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Sales Taxes Up

By KWGS News

Tulsa, OK – Mayor Dewey Bartlett said today the City of Tulsa's sales tax revenues for November, collected in December and remitted to the City in January by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, are up 11.34 percent compared to the same month last year.

But, the mayor explained, part of that increase is due to the expiration of a .167 percent sales tax for a Tulsa County funding package, allowing the City to pay slightly faster for its voter-approved capital improvements projects in the 2008 Fix Our Streets package. The City was earning taxes at a 3 percent rate, but now is earning at 3.167%. That change does not affect the City's general fund which pays for many day-to-day operating expenses and is still being collected at the same 2 percent rate.

"If you compared revenues at the same 3 percent rate, the increase would be 5.5 percent," the mayor said.

"We are encouraged to see revenues continue to improve," said Bartlett. "It appears that the first portion of the Christmas retail season was good in Tulsa. But we will continue to improve efficiency and look for ways to deliver City services at lower costs."

The City received $20,011,737 from the Oklahoma Tax Commission this month. That compares to 17,974, 061 in January of 2011. It also exceeds the budget estimate of 19,186,000 for the month.

For the 12-month period, the City received $124,485,803 in sales taxes, up 6.37 percent from the $117,035,928 received the previous year. The year's total exceeded budget estimates by 2.1 percent.

Use taxes are up 16.6percent for the month, compared to January 2011. The City received $2,008,927, compared to $1,722,664 in January a year ago. That exceeded budget estimates y 25.7 percent. For the entire year, use taxes totaled $11,406,449, compared to $10,173,103 the previous year, an increase of 12.1 percent.