City’s sale tax revenue beats prior year, projection

The city of Springfield’s 1 percent sales tax check for January from the Missouri Department of Revenue bested the previous year and officials’ projections for the month.

The January check totaled $4 million. That’s 2 percent ahead of the same month last year and 5 percent above the city’s forecast for January, according to a news release.

Through January, fiscal 2017 year-to-date collections came to $25.8 million, a 1 percent drop from the same time in fiscal 2016. The year-to-date figure also was 3 percent below the city’s projection for the first seven months of the fiscal year, which started July 1.

The January tax check represents sales processed by the state in December from transactions made primarily in November. The city relies on sales tax revenues as its main source for such vital service as police and fire operations.

Roughly 60 percent of Springfield’s general fund comes from sales and use taxes, according to the release.