Jonesboro crushes all-time sales and use tax collections record with a month to go

There is still one month to go in 2022 and the city of Jonesboro has already smashed its sales and use tax collections record for at least the seventh year in a row. The city has collected $23.1 million through November, about $290,000 more than was collected in all of 2021.

To date, Jonesboro’s collections are up 10.6% this year. When compared to projected budget totals, collections are up 8% in 2022.

The month of November continued a trend of record-setting months during the year. Nearly $2.122 million was collected during the month, an 8.3% ($163,000) increase from the same month in 2021. November’s collections were 6.8% above the budget projection.

It’s the ninth month this year in which the city has topped $2 million or more in sales and use tax collections. The city only had three such months in its history coming into this year.

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 has virtually tied its all-time record for sales and use tax collections through the month of November. For the year, the county has collected $26.044 million. At this point in 2021, the county collected $26.086 million.

During the month of November, the county collected $2.45 million, an 8.8% ($193,751) increase from the same month last year.