Sales tax collections down in Jonesboro in April report, still up for the year

Jonesboro and Craighead County have had consistent and steady sales and use tax growth virtually every month during the last six years, but April seems to be a rare exception. The city collected $1.467 million that month, a 5.5% drop from the previous April, according to figures released by the city on Thursday (April 29).

It comes after the city collected a whopping $1.703 million in March, which was a 14.1% ($210,111) increase from the previous March. City leaders have cautioned for months that sales tax collections numbers could be volatile when compared to certain months in 2020 when the pandemic first hit and there were varying degrees of businesses shutdown to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

For the year, the city of Jonesboro has collected 4.1% ($276,855) more than was projected by officials for the year. The city has a projected budget of about $20 million, and to date has tallied $6.951 million.

Sales tax numbers lag by 60 days meaning the numbers released were collected two months prior. Economists consider sales tax collections as a leading economic indicator, one that can show how a local economy can be expected to perform in the short-term.

Craighead County has had a similar collection pattern this year. In April, the county collected $1.682 million in sales and use taxes, a 4.3% decline from the same month in 2020. For the year, Craighead County is up about 4% from the same time period in 2020.