Bridgeport earns most in sales tax

Published Thursday, January 24, 2008

By Denny Deady

Bridgeport continued its assault on the sales tax record books in December when the city received $400,305 in sales tax rebates, a 60 percent increase over the 2006 December amount.

The rebates represent tax on sales in October, collected by the state in November and distributed to entities in December. The final payment for the year gave Bridgeport a total of $3,613,177, a 30 percent increase over the 2006 total. For the first time ever, Bridgeport earned more in annual sales tax rebates than any city in the county.

Decatur earned $282,078 from November sales tax, bringing the city's year-to-date total to $3,1502,784. Decatur's December check was a 16 percent increase over this time a year ago and the year-end total was up 11 percent over last year.

Three digit increases in December were felt by the cities of Boyd, Chico and New Fairview. Boyd earned $52,057, a 205 percent increase over November 2006. For the year, Boyd is up 56 percent, at $332,579. Chico collected $52,401 in December, a 130 percent increase over the same period last year. Chico is up 8 percent on the year. New Fairview received a December check for $42,024, a 179 percent increase over December 2006. The city's sales tax revenue is up 108 percent on the year, at $178,642.

The only city in the county to experience a drop in sales tax revenue in December was Lake Bridgeport. The city's check for $1,072 is half what it received in December last year. For the year, Lake Bridgeport is down 15 percent, at $26,090.