Cherokee County cities lag behind statewide gains in double-digits

New State Comptroller Susan Combs recently released her first sales tax report since taking office.

Statewide, sales were up some 6.7 percent for purchases made during November 2006 and remitted to the comptroller's office in December 2006.

"It's good news that Texas cities, counties and other local entities continue to see a healthy increase in sales tax revenue because of strong consumer spending," Mrs. Combs said. But she also predicts slower sales tax growth in the next two years.

In Cherokee County, the pre-Christmas run-up had retailers smiling and cash registers jingling.

Alto lead the county with a 68 percent surge in sales for November purchases compared to the same period one year ago.

Wells followed with an almost 52 percent increase, trailed by moderate gains of 11.75 percent in Rusk; 3.75 percent in New Summerfield and 3.36 percent in Jacksonville.

Only Cuney was in negative territory with a decline of 4.17 percent in retail sales compared to a year ago.

In small cities such as Cuney, New Summerfield and Wells, fluctuations can be dramatic if a retailer submits sales tax reports after the deadline.