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remain ahead of 2008's
collection pace.
By Mack Spencer
Monitor-Herald
A mixed March was followed by an awful April for sales tax collections in the Twin Counties.
Seven towns in Calhoun and Chickasaw counties recorded higher sales tax returns in March than in the previous March. Big Creek, Calhoun City, Houlka, Houston, Okolona, Pittsboro and Vardaman all had increased sales for March.
Houston's returns were almost $20,000 higher for the month. Calhoun City jumped more than $8,000, and Okolona leapt almost $6,000.
Among the other towns, Bruce only declined about $450 in March, and Mantee dipped about $200.
April was another story, as only Houlka managed higher sales, bringing about $1,000 more in tax returns from the state. Every other town in the area showed steep declines against the previous April.
Houston gave up its $20,000 increase from March in April. Calhoun City dropped about $9,000, Bruce about $8,000, and Okolona about $4,000.
Mantee's returns were down almost $1,200, more than a third of the previous April's total.
In March, four of the 12 Twin Counties-area towns were behind the sales tax collections pace of the previous year.
In April, that number declined to just two - Calhoun City and Vardaman. Calhoun City is about $3,000 ahead of 2008's pace of collections, while Vardaman is a little more than $5,000 ahead.
Bruce has seen the steepest fall in returns, down more than $17,000 for the year. Woodland continued its slide, falling more than $10,000 behind in the town's second straight year of declining sales revenues.