Jasper, Texas – Although not continuing to be as strong as the 11% first quarter increase, the 12-county Deep East Texas Council of Governments region’s sales tax allocations have set a new record high for the first half of 2015.

 

“The loss of jobs in the region related to the drop in the price of oil and the drop in exports caused by the strong dollar had us concerned,” said DETCOG Executive Director Walter Diggles.

 

“However, strong housing markets in Houston and Dallas have increased the demand for building materials produced in the region. Now 11 of our 12 counties have been declared eligible to receive federal disaster funds to repair infrastructure which was damaged by the floods. This should take any slack out of the regional job market and keep consumer confidence high in Deep East Texas.”

 

The $ 22,701,583 in sales tax allocations reported in the DETCOG “snapshot” report of 17 key cities and counties in the region is the highest amount reported for the first 6 months of the year in the 8 year history of the report. It translates into taxable sales of $908,063,338 which is an increase of $53,756,105 over the same period in 2014.

 

The sales tax allocations, as reported by Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar, are comprised of the cities and county’s part of the state’s 8.25% sales tax. Local entities; cities, counties, hospital and special districts within a county can claim up to a total of 2.5% of that levy. The state’s local allocations come from sales tax remitted by businesses, either quarterly or monthly, with a two month delay to allow for complete reporting and calculation of the local allocations.

 

The Deep East Texas Council of Governments region includes the counties of Angelina, Houston, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Trinity and Tyler. Its members include local governments, school districts, water districts, non-profit organizations and the Alabama-Coushatta Tribe of Texas.