DALLAS – Reversing five months of revenue declines, Texas recorded a slight gain in October, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
The $2.29 billion for the month of October surpassed revenues for the same month last year by 0.2%, Hegar reported.
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in October 2016 fell by 2.1% compared to the same period a year ago, the report said.
Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 58% of all tax collections in a state that does not have an income tax. Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, motor fuel taxes and oil and natural gas production taxes also are large revenue sources for the state.
"Opposing trends in consumer and business spending resulted in slight overall growth in state sales tax revenue," Hegar said of the October figures. "Continued declines in collections from the mining, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors, reflecting the subdued level of drilling for oil and natural gas production, were offset by significant gains from retail trade and restaurants."
While oil and natural gas production tax collections of $224 million fell 6.9% from October 2015, tax revenue from natural gas alone actually rose 9.3%, Hegar said. That represents the first year-over-year monthly increase since December 2014.
