Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced Thursday that the state’s sales tax revenue totaled $2.69 billion in March, a nearly 3% increase from 2019.
Hegar said collections from the retail trade sector contributed to the growth in revenue, while collections from oil and gas declined from last year.
Hegar then explained the majority of March sales tax revenue is based on sales made in February, which was before the novel coronavirus pandemic led to businesses being shut down.
The state’s total sales tax revenue increased 5% percent for the fiscal year 2020 through March when compared to the previous year.
“We expect that future sales tax revenue will be drastically affected because much of the economy has been shut down to combat the coronavirus pandemic and because of the negative impact of a global oil price war,” Hegar said.
According to the Texas Comptroller’s Office, sales tax is the largest source for the state’s budget, making up 57% of all tax collections.
Here's a look at the collected revenue from the state's other major taxes:
- Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $388.5 million, down 2.6% from March 2019
- Motor fuel taxes — $293 million, up 2.6% from March 2019
- Natural gas production taxes — $101.6 million, down 30.1% from March 2019
- Oil production taxes — $305.5 million, up 10.5% from March 2019
More on WFAA:
- Wall Street rises for first time in three days as oil spurts
- Before COVID-19, the Texas agency in charge of unemployment took 13,000 calls a day. They're now averaging around 1.5 million
- Texas' economic outlook faring better than other states during coronavirus outbreak
- April bills are due. Here's a survival guide.
- Inside Texas Politics: 2 weeks of COVID-19 shutdown cost $1.5 billion locally, Dallas County commissioner says
