July sales taxes up $1 million

Iberville's parishwide July sales tax collections rose by more than $1 million to $5.3 million compared to the previous year's, according to the latest report from the Iberville Sales Tax Department.

For the year to date, however, collections are $5.4 million below those of the record 2010 as industrial construction tapers off. In the first seven months of 2011, sales tax collections topped $28.78 million, compared to $34.2 million last year.

Sales taxes are a prime source of revenue for local governments and a key economic indicator for the parish.

Last month, the Iberville Parish Council and the parish's six municipalities shared in $2.75 million from two and two-thirds cents in sales taxes, a gain of $547,728 over collections in July 2010.

The Iberville Parish School Board, with two percent in taxes, took in $2.1 million, up $425,790.

The one-third cent solid waste tax that pays for residential garbage collections produced $353,667 last month, up $71,025.

The two percent tax on hotel and motel rooms yielded $3,479, up $7.

The City of St. Gabriel, which has a separate one-cent tax within its corporate limits, received $102,631 last month, a $12,670 improvement over July 2010.

For the year to date, St. Gabriel's tax has produced $692,422, an increase of $28,951.