Tax revenue soars in February

Alvarado's sales tax revenue for February sales has the attention of city hall as it increased 46.26 percent more than last year's allotment for the same time period.
“Our sales have been continually going up for a while, now,” Alvarado financial director Kelle Whitfill said. “We've just missed one month of positive gain this past year.” “I think we are beginning to see the revenue for beer and wine sales,” she said. “Clint Davis (city manager) and I are working on a report to see exactly where it [the higher tax allotment] is coming from,” Whitfell said.
“We always work two months behind on these, as the new figures are for February's sales, so we have to go backward to piece it together,” she said. Burleson's allotment for February sales increased 42.65 percent over last year's numbers while Keene enjoyed an 11.47 percent increase, with Cleburne at 7.86 percent and Joshua with a 0.17 percent increase in sales tax revenue. Texas Comptroller Susan Combs announced last week that state sales tax revenue in February was $1.87 billion, up 16.9 percent compared to February 2011. 
“The latest sales tax revenue numbers mark a continuation of recent trends we have seen in sales tax receipts,” Combs said. “Strong collections continued in oil and gas-related sectors, while growth in revenue from the retail sector and restaurants also accelerated.”