Northwest Arkansas sales tax revenue rose 8.96% in June report 

The cumulative sales tax revenue reported by Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale totaled $8.691 million, up 8.96% in the June report. In the first six months of 2022 the revenue totals $49.666 million, up 13% from the $42.947 million reported in the same period of 2021.

June sales tax reflects local tax charged by the cities for goods and services in April. The report reflects the 1% local sales tax which flows into their respective operating budgets.

Springdale led the growth results for the June report with total revenue of $1.854 million, up 12.51% from the same month last year. Springdale Mayor Doug Sprouse said city revenue is up this year and expenditures are lower given the number of open positions that have been challenging to fill.

“Our lower payroll expenses are the major reason expenditures are down and that is putting revenue way ahead of budget. That said, we feel like the economy is starting to slow down and we are being very careful to watch trends over the next several months. We are not yet celebrating a strong first half of 2022 given the unknowns and inflationary pressures that are likely to persist in the fall and beyond,” Sprouse said.

He said a silver lining for Springdale in a slowing economy is that the base of the city’s sales tax revenue is centered around staples like food and fuel and other consumables. He said the city’s sales tax revenue has been stable over the years and does not fluctuate with wide swings like other markets where there are more seasonal events and higher discretionary spending.

“We hope if there is a major economic slowdown that it is short lived. We are all in this together,” he said.

Through the first six month reports of 2022, Springdale’s sales tax revenue totals $10.789 million, up 19.28% from the $9.046 million reported a year ago.

Rogers’ tax revenue in the June report was $2.206 million, up 12.01%. In the first six months of 2022, Rogers reported total revenue of $12.912 million, up 14.37% from the same period last year.

Fayetteville reported sales tax revenue growth of 6.94% in the June report compared to the same month last year. Sales revenue reported in June totaled $2.487 million, which was $161,395 more than reported a year ago. Fayetteville has seen its sales tax revenue growth moderate in the past three months after a strong double-digit growth rate in the first three reports of 2022.

Bentonville had another $2 million month in the June report with sales tax revenue of $2.142 million, up 5.45% from the year-ago period. Four of the first six-month reports the city has had more than $2 million in sales tax revenue. Bentonville’s city budget is also in strong fiscal shape on the heels of a 28.2% sales tax revenue growth reported last year and 10.68% revenue growth in the first six month reports of 2022, over the same period last year. Like the peer cities, Bentonville officials remain cautious about the back half of the year saying they have the wherewithal to maneuver through a slowdown they hope will be brief.