By Conrad Dudderar
Associate Editor
Yukon city leaders remain cautiously optimistic about the city’s economic growth after receiving the latest monthly sales tax disbursement from the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
The City of Yukon on April 8 received a $2,245,159.16 distribution of sales tax collections from the Oklahoma Tax Commission, which primarily represents local tax receipts from February business.
That amount is 1.5% more than the $2,212,259.90 disbursed to Yukon in April 2023 – the second straight monthly gain in the year-over-year comparison.
In March, Yukon’s monthly sales tax distribution was 9.5% above March ‘23. That followed a 1.1% decrease in February, 0.2% decrease in January and 1.8% decrease last December.
“Thank you, Yukon for shopping local,” Mayor Shelli Selby said. “It makes a difference when we keep our money local.
“The tax on every dollar spent here goes to pay our bills and fix our roads. We are excited to welcome Harbor Freight to our city and all that they bring. One more great place to shop local.”
Through the first 10 months of FY23-24, Yukon’s city sales tax collections have increased about 2.3% over the same period in FY22-23 – from $23,415,747 to $23,954,832.
Oklahoma’s inflation rate is 3.4%, according to recent data from the state Department of Commerce.
Sales tax is the primary revenue source for Oklahoma’s municipalities, funding local government operations.
The City of Oklahoma City is the largest municipality in Canadian County – both in terms of population and sales tax collections.
For April, the City of Oklahoma City received $2,836,483.20 in sales tax revenues within Canadian County – a 2.8% increase from the $2,759,469.69 collected in April ‘23.
This follows a 2.9% decrease in March, 12% increase in February, 72.8% increase in January, 12.1% increase in December, 5.5% increase in November, 9.3% increase in October, 1.6% increase in September, and 20.6% increase in August in the year-over-year comparison.
The City of Yukon has a 4% local tax rate.
The City of Oklahoma City has a 4.125% local tax rate.
SIX UP, THREE DOWN
Across Oklahoma, the April 8th disbursement of $192,788,971 in sales tax collections returned to the cities and towns reflected 2.9% increase from the $187,412,022 distributed to them in April 2023.
Yukon and Oklahoma City are among nine municipalities inside Canadian County that receive sales tax distributions monthly from the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Six municipalities in Canadian County saw increases this month compared to April ‘23:
- Calumet – 41.7%
- El Reno – 13.1%
- Geary – 3.4%
- Mustang – 0.9%
- Oklahoma City – 2.8%
- Yukon – 1.5%
The other three municipalities in Canadian County had decreases in the year-over-year comparison:
- Okarche – 9.2%
- Piedmont – 1.3%
- Union City – 41.3&
Meanwhile, the April use tax disbursement to cities and towns across Oklahoma totaled $33,869,770.64.
The City of Yukon saw 25.2% increase in use tax revenues – from $261,066.62 in April ’23 to $326,963.04 this month.
That follows a 35.7% increase in March, 3.4% decrease in February, 6.4% increase in January, 10.7% increase in December, and 18% increase in November.
A use tax is a tax on goods or services that generally would be subject to sales tax, but the sales tax was not collected or was under-collected. Use taxes often apply to online or out-of-state purchases.
COUNTY RETURNS
In county returns for April, Oklahoma’s 77 counties shared $31,935,334.67 in sales tax disbursements and $61,193,277.59 in use tax disbursements.
Canadian County saw an 3.3% increase in sales tax collections between April 2023 ($804,532.47) and this April ($831,009.04).
That follows a 4.2% decrease in March, 8.1% increase in February, 8.3% increase in January, 2% decrease in December, 10.8% increase in November, 8.4% increase in October, and 6.1% increase in September in the year-over-year comparison.
Through the first 10 months of FY23-24, Canadian County’s cumulative sales revenues are up 4.9% over the same period in FY22-23 – from $8,208,972 to $8,609,298.
Canadian County’s .035% countywide sales tax is earmarked to fund operations at the Gary E. Miller Children’s Justice Center.
The Canadian County use tax distribution was $181,836.69 for April, a 3.4% increase from $175,933.68 in April ‘23.
That follows a 0.06% decrease in March, 1.2% decrease in February, 3.1% increase in January, 0.5% decrease in December, and 10% decrease in November.
