Computer purchase boosts tax numbers

A single computer purchase by a Carson manufacturing firm boosted the capital's February taxable sales by 8 percent.

Taxation officials won't release the name of the company because of confidentiality regulations but city Finance Director Nick Providenti said they confirmed the increase in the computer and electronic product manufacturing sales was a single computer system sold by a Sparks company to a Carson firm for $3.9 million.

Providenti said the result was what would have been a 2.4 percent increase in taxable sales for Carson turned into a 10.4 percent increase with total sales for the month of $53.5 million.

"I have no idea who," he said.

Even without that sale, he said the capital is showing every sign of a slow but steady recovery. For the eight months of its fiscal year, Carson's taxable sales are up 6.7 percent. That is better than the 4-4.5 percent growth he said his office had projected for the year.

February's increase follows the 9.7 percent increase Carson City reported in January.

Carson did well in its two largest sales categories. Auto sales were up 9.1 percent to $12.3 million and General Merchandise sales were up 8.8 percent to $10.3 million.

Those gains were offset somewhat by declines in building and construction categories. In addition, miscellaneous store retailer sales dipped 33.7 percent to $835,681 and wholesalers of durable goods saw an 8.2 percent decrease to $2.4 million.

The state as a whole reported a 4.3 percent increase for the month to more than $2.9 billion in taxable sales. For the eight months of Fiscal 2011, statewide numbers are up 5 percent.

The leading categories in February were motor vehicle dealers, up 17.6 percent, durable goods wholesalers, up 18.8 percent, and accommodations, up 13.6 percent.

Altogether, 13 of Nevada's 17 counties reported an increase in taxable sales compared to February 2010.

Douglas and Churchill counties were not among them.

Douglas sales were off 5.3 percent to $36.7 million in February. The culprit was sales of food and drink, the county's largest tax generator, which fell 5.5 percent to $8.9 million.

Churchill was down 3 percent compared to the previous year, reporting $17.8 million in sales. A 22 percent increase in sales to utilities - $2.5 million - couldn't offset decreases in building and related categories and a negative $119,616 in non-metallic mineral sales.

But, for a change, Lyon - one of the areas hardest hit by the recession - was up substantially. The county reported a 20.3 percent increase in total sales to $18.7 million. Rather than one or two major categories, the increases in Lyon were spread throughout the 85 categories reporting taxable sales. The biggest gain in a major category was 25.8 percent higher sales by merchant wholesalers of durable goods.

Storey County reported a gain of 34.6 percent to $3.4 million. That included a 500 percent increase in the motion picture and sound recording industry as well as substantial increases in rail transportation, museums and historical sites, non-store retail sales and several manufacturing categories.

Washoe County reported a decrease of 3.1 percent with $359.46 million in sales. Clark County reported a 3.2 percent increase to $2.17 billion for the month.F