The parking lot for the Grant Avenue Walmart wasn't very full a few hours after the store opened on Black Friday. Information on taxable sales for November won't be available from the Nevada Department of Taxation until the end of January.
An ordinance to issue $51 million in bonds to build a new justice center in Minden goes before Douglas County commissioners on Thursday. Part of the county’s repayment for $37 million of those bonds is based on sales tax revenue.
Douglas is in its second fiscal year of being completely reliant on generating sales taxes within its boundaries. According to the state, Douglas received $1.7 million from taxable sales, cigarette and liquor taxes in September.
Those and property taxes raise the majority of the county’s annual revenue to pay for its annual $67 million general fund budget.
State taxation officials warned the counties back in spring to be prepared for a 1 percent decline in sales tax revenue.
Members of the Economic Forum met on Tuesday to forecast how much money the state would have for the 2025 session of the Nevada Legislature. Media outlets are reporting the forum is projecting a 7 percent growth over the next two years, growing around $900 million from the previous $11.5 billion.
Statewide, taxable sales were down a fifth of a percent for the first quarter ending Sept. 30, according to figures released by the Nevada Department of Taxation.
Clark County, which has had $15.9 billion in taxable sales for the quarter is down 1.8 percent compared to first quarter in 2023-24.
Taxable sales are reported by merchants across the state and generate much of the state’s revenue.
The 8,525 filing locations in Douglas County for September reported $326.8 million from the first quarter of the fiscal year, up a fifth of a point after a poor showing in September.
The county’s merchants reported a 6.5 percent decline to $104.5 million compared to the $111.8 million they raised in September 2023.
Almost 13 percent of that was raised through purchases at nonstore retailers, which includes online shopping. The sector leads the county with $13.1 million in sales during September, which is up from August’s $12.3 million. While August was up 23.4 percent from the same month the previous year, the latest figures show September is only up 6.1 percent.
Meanwhile, brick and mortar retailers are up 1.5 percent from the first quarter of 2023-24. In September, general merchandise stores, which includes the county’s two Walmarts and the Target, were up 2.6 percent to $10.5 million.
The second highest sector for the county, food services and drinking places, is running slightly below in the first quarter, and only up 2.5 percent in September, generating $12.5 million in sales, mostly from the Stateline casinos.
One of the questions posed at the November session of the Economic Forum was whether people coming for larger events were gambling.
While accommodations are up 13.7 percent to $6 million in September, amusement, gambling and recreation are down 17.2 percent to $3.5 million compared to the same month in 2023.
That jibes with an 18.84 percent drop in gaming revenues at Stateline reported by the Nevada Gaming Control Board.
The casinos generated $21.38 million, down almost $5 million from September 2023 and 5.66 percent for the first quarter.
Sectors related to new home construction, including building materials, electronics and appliance stores and home furnishings were all down in September.
Building materials and garden equipment and supplies generated $7.1 million, down 12.7 percent. Electronics and appliance stores posted $2.26 million in sales, down 3.1 percent. Furniture and home furnishings were down by 10 percent to $1.68 million.
Taxable sales are supposed to be collected on purchases based on where a buyer lives. There have been instances where that hasn’t happened, though.
One example is motor vehicle and parts dealers, which is down 20.3 percent for the quarter, bringing in $14.7 million. September didn’t help matters with a 13.9 percent decrease to $4.45 million.
While there are several auto parts stores in Douglas County, there isn’t a single car lot, so much of that is generated at dealerships outside of the county.
