Oklahoma City’s recent financial health check-up revealed some concerning figures, with the city’s General Fund collections from sales and use taxes not quite keeping pace with projections or last year’s numbers, according to a report published by the City of Oklahoma City.
Delving into the numbers, the General Fund, which undergirds the city’s day-to-day operations and relies heavily on sales tax revenue as its financial lifeline, collected about $24.6 million in sales taxes for April. This figure fell short by $2.5 million or 9.3% of what was projected and showed a decrease of 6.6% compared to the same period last year. The use tax didn’t fare much better, coming in at around $7.9 million, falling short of projections by $741,000 and just slightly under last year by $85,000, as reported by the City of Oklahoma City.
The role of sales and use tax is critical for Oklahoma City’s economy, with retail sales acting as the lifeblood and the use tax accounting for out-of-state purchases. Collected at an overall rate of 8.625%, the sales tax fills not just the General Fund but also supports MAPS 4, police, fire services, and the zoo; out of every taxed dollar, the General Fund receives 2 ¼ cents, accounting for a significant portion of its revenue stream…