Local sales tax down, use tax up for city and county
Local sales tax down, use tax up for city and county
By Ken Childers
ONL Editor
Local sales tax receipts from business conducted in October were down from the previous year for the City of Okemah as well as for the coffers of Okfuskee County.
According to the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the city received a disbursement last week in the amount of $97,789.93, which was down slightly from this time last year when the amount was $98,492.27. The county received $110,449.39, a decrease of nearly 27 percent as compared to the December 2018 disbursement of $140,219.51.
While local sales tax receipts were down, use tax (collected when goods are purchased outside of Oklahoma, online or otherwise, then used inside the state) was up at both the city and county level. The City of Okemah received a use tax disbursement of $20,027.03, a 55 percent increase over last December’s amount of $9,059.13. Okfuskee County saw a similar increase in its use tax disbursement, receiving $22,942.61. Last December, the amount was $10,117.00.
While local sales tax receipts were down, use tax (collected when goods are purchased outside of Oklahoma, online or otherwise, then used inside the state) was up at both the city and county level. The City of Okemah received a use tax disbursement of $20,027.03, a 55 percent increase over last December’s amount of $9,059.13. Okfuskee County saw a similar increase in its use tax disbursement, receiving $22,942.61. Last December, the amount was $10,117.00.
Use tax has been trending upward in recent months for both the city and county. In November, the city’s disbursement of $13,423.06 was up 52 percent over November 2018’s amount of $6,432.37. The amount received by the county was up 34 percent with a disbursement of $19,743.34. In November 2018, the amount was $13,091.06. In October, the use tax disbursement for the city was up 36 percent and the county realized a 56 percent increase over October 2018.
Two additional entities in Okfuskee County, the City of Weleetka and the town of Boley, received use tax disbursements this month. Weleetka took in $2,377.61 and Boley’s share was $808.43. Both amounts were up over December 2018 by six percent and 47 percent, respectively.
Sales tax collections around the county
Boley saw a 43 percent increase over December 2018 with a disbursement of $10,197.43; Castle’s disbursement of $1,123.56 was down 44 percent from the previous year; Clearview received $131.58; Paden realized a 65 percent decrease with a disbursement of $11,951.18 and Weleetka received $16,624.15, up 22 percent over this time last year.
Collections for other nearby cities and towns
Bristow: $310,106.46 (+ 12 percent)
Henryetta: $232,750.76 (+ 4 percent)
Okmulgee: $548,272.70 (-0.4 percent)
Prague: $93,890.63 (+ 11 percent)
Wetumka: $38,625.43 (-11 percent)
The December distribution of sales tax collections by the Oklahoma Tax Commission primarily represents local tax receipts from October business. Companies that remit more than $2,500 monthly in sales tax receipts are required to file and pay electronically. The monies they reported this period represent sales from Oct. 16 – Oct. 31 and estimated sales from Nov. 1 – Nov. 15.