Sales taxes decline in Orange, go up in BC

Sales tax payments to entities in Orange County have mainly been keeping steady increases, except for the city of Orange, which is down about $1.8 million for the year.

The Texas Comptroller's Office has sent the share payments this month to the entities that collect sales taxes. The payments cover sales in the month of July.

Orange County was slightly down for July this year compared to last year, but was up 4.84 percent for the year to date. The county received $618,581 for July, down 3.75 percent from the $642,016 for July 2023. For the first nine months of the year, the county has collected $6.8 million compared to $6.09 million for the same time last year. The county's sales tax is 0.5 percent, or a half-penny per $1.

All the cities and the only special district in the county with a sales tax have a rate of 1.5 percent, or one and a half penny per $1.

Bridge City is up 9.23 percent for the year to date with $1.82 million compared to $1.67 million last year.The city for July received $172,870, a 4.78 percent increase from the $164,975 for July 2023.

Orange received $602,043 for July, down 33.14 percent from the $900,477 in July last year. The city has collected $5.5 million for the year to date, down from $7.3 million last year, a drop of 24.93 percent.

Pinehurst has $59,144 for the month, up 6.62 percent from $55,470 for July last year. The city now has a total of $538,350 for the year to date, up 8.27 from $497,226 for the same period in 2023.

Vidor saw a sharp decrease for the month, but remains stable for the year to date. The city got $271,855 July, compared to $366,516 for July 2023, a drop of 25.82 percent. However, the city has $2.83 million for the year to date, slightly down rom $2.84 million last year.

West Orange has collected $135,417 for the month, up 15.51 percent from $117,229 last year. The city is now at $1.2 million for the first nine months of the year, up nearly 10 percent rom the $1.1 million received for the same period in 2023.

The Orange County Emergency Services District No. 3 for the Little Cypress Fire and Rescue Department is the only special district in the county with a sales tax. The ESD collected $31,604 for July and is now at $25,604 for the year to date.