March sales taxes down by more than $650,000

The Iberville Parish Sales Tax Department collected some $2.9 million in parishwide taxes in March, a drop of $651,816 from February's collections.

For the year to date, collections are $1.25 million lower than those for the first quarter of 2010, according to the department's latest report, released this week by Chief Administrative Officer Edward A. “Lucky” Songy Jr.

The parish has collected $11.26 million during the first three months of the year, compared to $12.52 million in 2010, as Shintech Inc. nears the end of its $1.9 billion plant construction.

Last month, the Iberville Parish Council and the parish's six municipalities shared in $1.54 million from two and two-thirds cents in taxes, a decrease of $346.93 from March 2010.

The Iberville Parish School Board, which collects two cents in sales taxes, took in nearly $1.9 million last month, a decline of $261,665.

The one-third cent Solid Waste Fund received $198,685, down $43,957.

The two percent tax on hotel and motel room rentals produced $3,086, down $101.

The City of St. Gabriel, which levies a separate one-cent tax within its corporate limits, received $73,677 last month, a decrease of $11,720 from March 2010.

For the year to date, St. Gabriel has taken in$286,625, down $84,201.