Fayette Leads Region In Sales Tax Growth

Fayette County continues to set the pace for sales tax growth in the region after numbers came in for the first quarter of 2023.

Of the nine area counties that levy the optional retail sales tax, Fayette County’s growth rate is nearly double the next nearest county.

Three months into the new year, State Comptroller Glenn Hegar has sent $881,675 to the county’s coffers. That’s up 26.7% from what the county got at this point a year ago – nearly a $200,000 jump.

Nearby Caldwell and Gonzales counties had the next greatest growth rate, at 14.6% each.

All but one of the nine have seen growth this year. Only Austin County is down for 2023.

And all seven towns in Fayette County are up for the year. In fact, only three of the 25 area towns tracked by the Record are down at this point.

According to Hegar, total year-to-date rebates to Texas cities are up 7.8% after the March payments were made. Three of Fayette’s towns are above that average and four are below.

Round Top is leading the way, with sales taxes up 39.5% compared to this time last year. With the post-pandemic arrival of the spring antiques events, many expect the increase to continue.

Only sales made actually inside the city limits result in city sales tax, however. The city rate doesn’t apply for buyers in the tents and fields scattered across Warrenton and vicinity. All sales, however, are subject to applicable taxes. Agents from the State Comptroller’s office reportedly check that vendors charge the taxes and then report them to the state.

The state sales tax rate is 6.25% and Fayette County levies a 0.5% tax. For sales made inside a city, the rate is 1.5%, except for Ellinger, which has a 1% tax rate.

The countryside stalls of antique dealers are particularly important to county officials, since the county gets sales tax revenue from them even though a town doesn’t.

The county’s tax growth is being fueled by something, however, beyond antiques. A number of businesses have sprung up in the past couple of years just outside the city limits of various towns. These result in sales tax revenue for the state and county, even if the towns don’t gain from it.

Among the 25 area towns tracked by the Record, Yoakum has had the most growth, up 23.3% compared to this time last year. Giddings is second at 14.7%.

In Fayette County, Round Top is up 39.5%, Fayetteville is up 31.1% and Schulenburg is up 25.4%. Lagging behind are Flatonia, up 6.4%, La Grange and Carmine, each up 3.2% and Ellinger, up 2.1%.

Bastrop continues to be the area’s biggest retail center, collecting just over $3 million in sales tax so far this year. Brenham is next, with $2.3 million.

Local Sales Tax Revenues First Three Months of Year (Jan.-March)

Fayette County Cities

Pct. Change Tax Rate 2023 2022 2021 2020 2022 to ’23 La Grange 1.50% 653,595 632,862 553,352 471,182 Up 3.2% Schulenburg 1.50% 355,406 283,247 218,080 197,966 Up 25.4% Flatonia 1.50% 116,063 109,016 101,314 92,622 Up 6.4% Round Top 1.50% 103,183 73,962 71,942 64,321 Up 39.5% Fayetteville 1.50% 41,948 31,996 31,444 25,190 Up 31.1% Carmine 1.50% 35,308 34,206 38,011 38,216 Up 3.2% Ellinger 1.00% 16,834 16,483 0 0 Up 2.1%

Other Area Cities

Bastrop 1.50% 3,053,268 2,786,379 2,310,088 2,026,104 Up 9.5% Brenham 1.50% 2,306,643 2,226,387 1,845,310 1,749,315 Up 3.6% Elgin 1.50% 978,649 858,845 699,780 739,223 Up 13.9% Lockhart 1.50% 965,157 874,382 768,762 699,476 Up 10.3% Sealy 1.50% 853,489 778,702 659,891 660,368 Up 9.6% Gonzales 1.50% 807,214 773,535 607,159 734,571 Up 4.3% Giddings 1.50% 702,997 612,584 463,063 528,330 Up 14.7% Hempstead 2.00% 586,351 589,964 471,705 458,081 Down 0.6% Yoakum 2.00% 543,846 440,851 372,381 422,407 Up 23.3% Columbus 1.50% 518,671 479,361 410,150 444,541 Up 8.2% Caldwell 1.50% 516,382 531,948 385,517 506,384 Down 2.9% Luling 1.50% 487,837 448,582 351,445 350,198 Up 8.7% Hallettsville 2.00% 374,674 355,904 381,763 338,507 Up 5.2% Bellville 1.50% 289,742 253,468 224,652 199,776 Up 14.3% Weimar 1.50% 229,240 223,574 186,236 182,029 Up 2.5% Smithville 1.50% 219,978 224,454 179,427 164,578 Down 2.0% Shiner 1.00% 134,054 129,164 87,320 109,122 Up 3.7% Eagle Lake 1.00% 112,202 100,389 107,711 80,404 Up 11.7%

County Governments 2023 2022 2021 2020 1 yr change Bastrop 0.50% 2,057,163 1,819,735 1,456,815 1,337,301 Up 13.0% Washington 0.50% 1,162,184 1,053,722 817,360 785,235 Up 10.3% Fayette 0.50% 881,675 695,832 549,497 544,294 Up 26.7% Caldwell 0.50% 808,333 705,187 606,244 556,105 Up 14.6% Gonzales 0.50% 656,315 572,293 449,902 678,453 Up 14.6% Colorado 0.50% 528,623 484,983 398,840 446,491 Up 9.0% Austin 0.50% 498,594 575,641 494,710 470,635 Down 13.3% Burleson 0.50% 413,474 366,716 279,993 419,745 Up 12.7% Lee 0.50% 403,938 356,336 322,420 1,022,471 Up 13.3%

Source: State Comptroller’s Office