State Sales Tax Totaled $2.2 Billion

State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled $2.2 Billion in March

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said today that state sales tax revenue totaled $2.24 billion in March, 3 percent more than in March 2016.

“Overall net growth in sales tax revenue represents mixed performances by major industry sectors,” Hegar said. “Collections from the manufacturing, wholesale trade, and information sectors increased, while receipts from construction, retail trade and restaurants declined from last year’s levels.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in March 2017 was up by 2.1 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58 percent of all tax collections in fiscal 2016. Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, motor fuel taxes and oil and natural gas production taxes are also large revenue sources for the state.

In March 2017, Texas collected the following income from those taxes:

motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $403.6 million, up 2.2 percent from March 2016;
Motor fuel taxes — $266.3 million, down 5.5 percent from March 2016; and
oil and natural gas production taxes — $297 million, up 177 percent from March 2016. The increase is due in part to refunds provided to natural gas severance taxpayers in March 2016, which resulted in artificially low tax collections during that period.
For details on all monthly collections, visit the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch. Go to the Comptroller’s website for an audio clip of Hegar’s statement on this month’s sales tax revenue.