State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled $2.5 Billion In May

Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 56 percent of all tax collections.

AUSTIN — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said today that state sales tax revenue totaled $2.5 billion in May, 4 percent more than in May 2016.

“State sales tax collections in May indicate a Texas economy expanding at a moderate pace,” Hegar said. “Growth in sales tax revenue occurred across most major industry sectors, including oil- and gas-related sectors. Only the construction sector showed a slight decline.”

Hegar also said state franchise tax revenue for fiscal 2017 totaled $3.2 billion in May, 8.9 percent less than in May 2016.

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in May 2017 is up 3.2 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax revenue is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 56 percent of all tax collections. Motor vehicle sales and rental taxes, motor fuel taxes and oil and natural gas production taxes also are large revenue sources for the state.

In May 2017, Texas collected the following revenue from those taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $379.7 million, down 1.1 percent from May 2016;
• motor fuel taxes — $304.4 million, up 6 percent from May 2016; and
• oil and natural gas production taxes — $267 million, up 79.9 percent from May 2016. The increase is due in part to refunds provided to natural gas severance taxpayers in May 2016, which resulted in artificially low tax collections during that period.