By Rupert Howell
Panola municipalities received more money in May from sales tax collected in April than they did in May of 2014 according to figures from the Mississippi Department of Revenue.
And why should that be of significance to you?

Well, let’s say you live and pay taxes in the Town of Sardis. That town received 33 percent more in sales tax revenue than in the previous April. That’s $8,501 in tax money that can be spent on something without raising taxes on real property and automobile taxes.

That city’s tourism tax, an additional tax on food and lodging, was also up 8.5 percent. That figure for the month of May totals $8,955 that can be spent on infrastructure such as sidewalks — without raising property taxes.

The fiscal year’s total for both sales and tourism tax has increased since the same period last year with year-to-date sales tax revenue up 10 percent or $303,802 and year-to-date tourism tax totaling $88,079.

Sales tax collections can also be used as a barometer of how retail businesses are doing within a municipality.

The City of Batesville’s sales tax also showed a sizable increase, although not as  high a percentage as Sardis, of 10 percent with Batesville coffers realizing $369,478 from sales tax and $107,212 from the tourism tax.

The amount received from the tourism tax was up seven percent over May of 2014.

Other Panola municipalities received the following amounts as their share of sales tax to put back in municipal coffers and percentage of change as follows: Como, $14,4413, +22; Courtland, $1,660, +48; Crenshaw, $5,488, +24; Crowder, $1,875, +20 and Pope, $3,703, +12.
Other nearby municipalities received the following amounts as their share (approximately 18 %) of the total seven percent sales tax collected and the percentage of change from April 2014 as follows: Charleston, $28,548, +29; Clarksdale, $227,877, -2; Grenada, $367,267, +10; Lambert, $1,390, -20; Oakland, $6,511, +10; Oxford, $706,683, +10; Senatobia, $181,308, -1; Taylor,$2,034, +43 and Water Valley, $42,893, +2.

Statewide money diverted back into municipal coffers was three percent above last year.