DALLAS - Texas sales tax revenue rose 5.6% year-over-year in March to $2.09 billion, the 48th straight month of growth, Comptroller Susan Combs said.
"The growth in sales tax revenues was led by business spending in the oil and natural gas mining, wholesale trade and construction sectors," Combs said. "Collections from restaurants were also strong."
With no income tax, Texas is heavily dependent on state sales tax revenue. With growth in the oil and gas sector running strong since the recession of 2008, the state has continued to gain population.
Four of the 20 fastest growing cities in the United States are in Texas, according to Forbes Magazine, with Austin ranked first for the fourth year in a row. The others include Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
March revenues were down about 5% from February's $2.2 billion.
From the March revenues, Combs will send cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts their April local sales tax allocations totaling $554.5 million, up 6.2% compared to April 2013.
