State sales tax collections released Wednesday hit a Texas record of $3.4 billion for the month, an increase of 30.1 percent over a year ago.
The taxes are for sales made in April and remitted to the Texas Comptroller’s Office in May.
“Resurgent consumer spending drove monthly state sales tax collections to a new high,” Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. “Supported by the end of pandemic restrictions, further vaccination progress and declines in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, continued recovery in employment, and federal stimulus checks and enhanced unemployment benefits, receipts from all retail sectors other than grocery stores surpassed pre-pandemic levels.”
All sectors showed significant increases over a year ago.
Motor vehicle sales were $544 million, up 109 percent from a year ago; motor fuel taxes, $315 million, up 42 percent; oil production tax, $364 million, up 303 percent; natural gas production tax, $131 million, up 323 percent; hotel occupancy tax, $48 million, up 509 percent; and alcoholic beverage tax, $126 million, up 355 percent.
“Sales at retailers that had benefited from pandemic spending — online and big box general merchandisers, building materials and home furnishings stores, sporting goods and hobby stores — continued at elevated levels, while sales at retailers severely depressed last year, such as clothing stores and electronics and appliance stores, rebounded sharply from last spring,” Hegar said.
“Spending at restaurants also surpassed pre-pandemic levels, with increased dine-in patronage adding to still elevated take-out and delivery business,” he added. “While total spending in the sector increased sharply from a year ago, the recovery was uneven, with business at large popular restaurant chains up sharply while many smaller venues continued to languish.”
