Jonesboro, Craighead County continue record setting sales and use tax collections pace
by October 10, 2022 10:57 am 1,127 views
Despite inflation, supply chain issues, interest rate hikes, and higher fuel prices, consumers continue to spend record amounts of money in Jonesboro and Craighead County. The city collected $2.1 million in city sales and use taxes in September, a 7.1% ($138,000) increase as compared to the same month in 2021, according to the records released by the city and the Craighead County Treasurer’s Department.
Each month in 2022 sales and use tax collections have outperformed the corresponding months in 2021. For the year, $18.8 million in sales and use taxes have been collected, 10.8% ($1.839 million) more than was collected through the first nine months of last year.
The September figure is 6.2% ($121,827) above the projected budget for the month. For the year, the city’s collections are outpacing projected budget numbers by 8% ($1.385 million).
With three months to go, the city is on the verge of setting another record for collections. In 2021, it collected an all-time record $22.8 million, meaning only $4 million in collections is needed to set the record in 2022. It would mark at least the seventh consecutive year that the sales tax collections record was topped.
It’s the seventh month this year when city sales tax collections have topped $2 million. Jonesboro only had two such months during the first half of 2021, and none previous to that.
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.
The collections period typically cuts off during the last week of the month depending on how the calendar days fall.
Craighead County’s sales tax growth continued during the month.
It collected $2.409 million, about a 5.9% ($133,388) increase from the same month in 2021. For the year, the county has collected $21.582 million in sales and use tax, an 18% upswing when compared to last year.