Record year for sales tax revenue in largest Northwest Arkansas cities

Bentonville, Fayetteville, Rogers and Springdale each reported record sales tax revenue in the past 12-month period. The cumulative revenue reported from January through December of this year for these cities totals $91 million, up 17.17% from the same period last year. Revenue received is also 22.86% more than reported in the same period of 2019.

The December report also showed each city posted double-digit gains from the same month last year. The cumulative revenue for December receipts totaled $7.721 million, up 18.02% year-over-year, and up 27.58% from the same month in 2019. Revenue reported in December comes from local sales tax on goods purchases and services rendered in October.

December reported revenue in Bentonville was $1.568 million, up 18.3% compared with the same month last year. The city’s revenue growth from December 2019 totaled 42%. Bentonville city officials budgeted conservatively for this year given the COVID vaccine wildcard when budgets were set late last year. Bentonville revenue totaled $20.948 million for the past 12 month of reports, a gain of 28.22% from a year ago, and up 35.86% from the same period in 2019.

Rogers posted $2.141 million in revenue in the December report, up 22.64% from the same month last year and 25.02% more than the same month in 2019. City officials in Rogers budgeted conservatively for this year at $19.9 million. The city exceeded that goal two months ago with the full-12-month reported revenue of $23.789 million. With the economy growing at a healthy clip, Mayor Greg Hines expects the city will be more aggressive with the 2022 budget.

Springdale has also seen a record year of sales tax revenue with the December report totaling $1.616 million, up 15.98% from the same month last year. The city’s December reported revenue was up 20.42% from the same month in 2019. Over the past 12-month period the city added more than $2 million to its coffers from higher tax revenue receipts.

The December report showed Fayetteville revenue totaling $2.396 million, up 15.32% from the year-ago period, and up 26.55% from the same month in 2019. Mayor Lioneld Jordan said the city is in solid fiscal shape and record sales tax receipts are part of the reason. For the past 12-months, Fayetteville’s reported sales tax revenue totaled $27.118 million, up 14.7% from the year-ago period. That’s more than $3.476 million added to the city coffers this calendar year.