County keeps sales above inflation rate

Orange County continues to have healthy commercial sales as reflected by the sales taxes collected for the month of September. The Texas Comptroller's Office collects the taxes and sends the shares back to the entities.

Orange County, which has a 0.5 percent sales tax is up 11.8 percent for collections during the year to date. So far, the county has received $7.48 million so far in 2023, compared to $6.69 million for the same time last year. For September, the county received $714,733, an 11.34 percent increase from the $641,893 for September 2022.

The U.S. Department of Commerce reports the national inflation rate for September this year was 3.7 percent, so the county's sales tax returns were three times the inflation rate.

The city of Orange, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, was down slightly for the month compared to last year, but remains way above the collections for the year to date. In September, the city received $813,718, a decrease of 1.73 percent from the $828,125 for September 2022. For the year to date, the city is at $8.89 million, an increase of 31.18 percent from the $6.77 million for the same period last year.

Bridge City, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, received $236,448 for September, up 6.28 percent from the $222,458 for September 2022. The city now has $2.076 million, compared to $2.062 million last year, an increase of 0.69 percent.

Pinehurst, which has been seeing steady declines in the amount of sales taxes collected, was up 5.77 percent for September 2023, compared, to September 2022. The city received $59,711 for the month, compared to $56,451 last year. For the year to date, Pinehurst is down slightly with $613,055 this year, compared to $619,555 for the same time last year, a decrease of 1 percent. The city has a 1.5 percent sales tax.

West Orange has a 1.25 percent sales tax, the lowest of the cities in the county. The city received $118,655 for September, a 3.2 percent increase from the $114,971 for September last year. For the year to date, the city has $1.34 million, a healthy 7.29 percent increase from the $1.25 million collected for the same period last year.

Vidor, with a 1.5 percent sales tax, had increases for the month and the year to date. The September collections were at $361,910, a 4.44 percent increase from the $345,526 for September 2022. The city is up 6.6 percent for the year to date with $3.5 million this year compared to $3.28 million in 2022.

The Orange County Emergency Services District 3, Little Cypress Fire and Rescue, is the only special district in the county with a sales tax. The rate is 1.5 percent. The district received $37,363 for September compared to $26,137 for September 2022. The district is now at $314,512 for the year to date, an increase of 16.11 percent to the $270,855 for the same period last year.