Orange continues big drops in sales tax payments

Sales tax revenues for June were up from last year for most of the local entities. However, the county had a decrease in monthly sales, though it still has collected more for the year to date compared to last year.

The city of Orange continues to see a steep drop in sales tax collections during the past few months, and is down nearly 24 percent in revenues for the first eight months of the year in comparison to the same time last year.

The sales tax information comes from the Texas Comptroller's Office, which collects sales taxes and then sends the cities, counties, and special districts their shares.

Orange County has a 0.5 percent sales tax. For June, the county received $733,264, and in June 2023 had $911,544, a decrease o 19.33 percent. However, for the year to date, the county has collected $5.77 million, up from $5.45 million last year, an increase of 5.85 percent.

All the cities, along with the one special district with a sales tax, have rates of 1.5 percent, or one-and-a-half penny per dollar spent. Payments for June are:

Bridge City, $215,600 for June, an increase of 2.3 percent from the $210,742 collected in June last year. The city is up 9.72 percent for collections for the year to date with $1.65 million compared to $1.5 million in 2023.

Orange, $655,490 for June, a drop of 41 percent rom $1.11 million in June last year. The city is down 23.78 percent for the year to date with $4.89 million, compared to $6.42 million last year.

Pinehurst for the first time in several years has had steady monthly increases in sales. For June, the city was up 3.87 percent with $58,628 compared to $56,444 in 2023. The city is now up 8.47 percent for the year to date with $479,200, compared to $441,757 for the same period last year.

Vidor had a small decrease in monthly sales, but is still up for the year to date. The city received $371,071 for June, a 2.84 percent drop from the $389,918 collected for June last year. The is now has $2.56 million for the year to date, a 3.61 percent increase from the $2.475 collected for the same time last year.

West Orange collected $151,566 for June, up 3.43 percent from $147,506 for June last year. The city is up 9.14 percent for the payments this year to date with $1.08 million compared to $993,443 for the same period in 2023.

The Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department, or Orange County Emergency Services District No. 3, is the only special district in the county with a sales tax. The group received $34,888 for June and is now at $220,999 for the year to date, an increase of 7.88 percent from the $204,844 last year.