Oklahoma City's financial performance in December has shown a promising uptick, particularly in sales and use tax collections that contribute to the General Fund, which is crucial for the city's everyday functions. Detailed in the General Fund's sales and use tax report, the numbers indicated an increase from the same period last year and exceeded the projections set for this month, as documented by the City of Oklahoma City.
Bringing in approximately $28.1 million for December, sales tax collections not only beat the budget projections by about $775 thousand, which is a 2.8% margin, but these collections also surpassed last year's numbers, marked at a 4.3% uptick or equivalent to $1.2 million. Despite the gains seen this month, the fiscal year-to-date figures tell a slightly more complicated story. The sales tax revenue, which represents the largest slice of revenue for the General Fund, is trailing behind projections by 3.0%, about $5.1 million, and also lagging 1.8% or roughly $3.1 million from the previous year's benchmarks at this time.
On the other hand, use tax collections for December hovered around $8.8 million, with the sum revealing a marginal underperformance against the projection by a negligible 0.2% or $14 thousand, yet showcasing a sturdy year-over-year growth of 7.3% or an increase by $603 thousand. The fiscal year-to-date use tax haul, whilst taking a 4.1% dip, approximately $2.1 million below projections, enjoyed a bump up from the previous year, ticking a 2.9% increase, or making a gain of about $1.4 million.
Understanding the composition of the collected sales and use taxes is critical; retail sales within Oklahoma City seed the sales tax revenue. In contrast, the use tax accrues from items purchased outside of the city's physical retailers, such as online sales or goods from suppliers not found within local borders, like certain equipment pieces. The total take from these taxes during December reached a substantial $63.5 million, pooling into funds not limited to the General Fund, but also supporting police, fire services, the Zoo, and MAPS 4 investments. The sales tax includes various earmarks: Oklahoma City as of now levies a 4.125-cent charge on every dollar of taxable sales, with 2 ¼ cents flowing into the General Fund, one cent diverted to MAPS 4, another slice to police and fire departments, and a portion allotted to the Zoo.
