Texas continued its record-setting sales tax collections in March, collecting $2.6 billion, a 9% increase over the same month in 2018 and a record for the month, State Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported.
Sales tax revenue of nearly $8.2 billion for the first quarter of 2019 was up 7.3% compared to the same period a year ago.
“State sales tax revenue growth was again strong in March, as we saw increased collections in all major economic sectors, including retail trade, information services, oil and gas and restaurants,” Hegar said. “Much of the increase stemmed more from consumer spending rather than business spending.”
Along with sales tax, which makes up 57% of Texas revenues, other tax sources were also up.
Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes of $398.8 million were 3.7% higher than in March 2018 while motor fuel taxes of $285.6 million, rose 3.3%. Taxes on production of natural gas climbed 8.4% to $145.4 million while oil production taxes edged up 0.2% to $276.4 million.
