Sales and use tax revenue up 16 percent

RBC | At the end of the second quarter, Rio Blanco County Sales and Use Tax Administrator Debbie Morlan said it looked like things were “moving in the right direction” again. The third quarter sales and use tax numbers would appear that she was correct.
For the county, sales and use tax revenue in the third quarter of 2017 totaled $335,604, a 56 percent increase from 2016 third quarter’s $189,335, For the year, sales and use tax revenue for the county is up almost 16 percent from the first three quarters of 2016.
Motor vehicle use taxes in the third quarter increased 45 percent from $58,115 to $105,545, but overall for the year, motor vehicle use taxes remain steady.
Construction materials use tax in the third quarter of 2017 were $228,137, up from $40,990 in the same period last year. Overall for the year, however, construction materials use tax dollars are down 42 percent from 2016, when the justice center project was completed.
For the town of Meeker, sales tax revenue in the third quarter was $224,467, almost on par with 2016’s $222,900. For the year, sales tax has totals of $597,139, a 6 percent increase from the same period in 2016.
Motor vehicle use tax for Meeker is up slightly for the year, from $130,381 at this point in 2016, to $147,452 this year.
The greatest revenue decrease for the Town of Meeker is in construction materials use taxes, which total $7,458 for the year this far, compared to $38,201 for the same period last year.
The Town of Rangely has not seen the same sales tax revenue growth this year. Declines in the first and second quarters were not made up for in the third quarter, although the third quarter was up from $161,955 to $194,866. For the year, the Town of Rangely’s sales tax revenue is down 9 percent from 2016.
On the contrary, Rangely’s motor vehicle use taxes are up 25 percent compared to the first three quarters of 2016, totaling $164,950 so far this year. In the third quarter, motor vehicle use taxes were $63,278, compared to $48,081 in the same period of 2016.
Rangely’s construction materials use tax revenue for the first three quarters of 2017 is $3,321, up from $1,108 during the same period in 2016.
Meeker lodging tax revenue in the third quarter of 2017 was $9,599, a 51 percent increase from $4,710 in the same period last year. Overall for the year, lodging tax revenue in Meeker is up 38 percent. Rangely lodging tax revenue for the third quarter increased from $3,345 in 2016 to $6,558 in 2017, a 49 percent increase. For the year thus far, Rangely lodging tax revenue is down 19 percent.