Jonesboro sales tax collections up 10.6% in October; nearing all-time annual record

by George Jared ([email protected]) 727 views 

The city of Jonesboro has grown accustomed to setting all-time sales and use tax collections records each year. In 2022, that record pace is now on an accelerated track.

Northeast Arkansas’s largest city collected $2.166 million in sales and use tax in October, a 10.6% ($206,000) increase from the same month in 2021, according to the city. For the year, the city has collected $20.978 million, a 10.8% ($2.046 million) increase from the same 10-month period last year.

The city is 8,1% ($1.5 million) ahead of its projected budget. Eight out of the 10 months this year, Jonesboro has collected $2 million or more. It only had three such months in all of 2021, and none previous to that year.

The all-time record was set in 2021 with $22.8 million. That means the city could set a new record with one whole month to spare.

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 $2.44 million, about a 6.1% ($150,000) increase from the same month in 2021. For the year, the county has collected $23.594 million in sales and use tax, an 18% upswing when compared to last year.