Canceled travel plans may have boosted Cape County tax receipts

Sales tax revenue in Cape Girardeau County continues to exceed expectations and the county treasurer thinks canceled summer vacations may be one reason why.

“If some families were going to take a $2,000 vacation, they’re spending that money right here instead,” Roger Hudson said.

Hudson, appearing at the Cape Girardeau County Commission meeting Monday, said this month’s half-cent sales tax receipts were almost 31% higher than the county received in August last year.

The $603,401.28 received by the county this month, which mostly reflected retail sales in the county during July, was more than $142,000 more than the $460,997.58 in sales tax revenue the county received in August last year.

Hudson believes many vacation plans were scrapped this summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the money people would have spent on their vacations has gone toward consumer goods purchases close to home.

For the year to date, county sales tax revenue is running almost 4.1% ahead of last year’s pace, having contributed $5,108,170.01 to the county’s treasury so far this year. According to data provided by the county treasurer’s office, this is the earliest point during any calendar year sales tax revenue has exceeded $5 million.

“Going into [the coronavirus pandemic], we sure didn’t expect this,” Hudson said.

“But being an economic hub in Southeast Missouri and Southern Illinois, people are coming to Cape and spending money.”

In addition to the sales tax numbers, the county’s use-tax receipts on out-of-state goods and online purchases have also continued to grow.

This month the county received $184,434.42 from its use tax, $34,788.23, or 23.25%, more than it generated in August 2019. So far this year, the county’s use-tax receipts are running almost 37.8% ahead of this point last year, totaling $1,216,819.05. That’s nearly twice the $637,728.84 the use tax generated at this point in 2016 and almost as much as the tax raised in all of 2018 ($1,238.000.57) or 2019 ($12,291,487.12).

Do you crave business news? Check out B Magazine, and the B Magazine email newsletter. Check it out at www.semissourian.com/newsletters to find out more.