Trends

The Business Times January 6-19 2022

Tax collections on the rise

Measures reflect increased retail and lodging activity in Grand Junction

Sales tax collections, a key indicator of retail activity, continue to increase in Grand Junction.

The City of Grand Junction collected more than $4.8 million in sales taxes in November. That’s an increase of more than $627,000 and 14.9 percent increase over the same month in 2020 as well as a gain over the same month for the past four years.

Lodging tax collections, a measure of hotel and motel stays, also increased on a year-over-year basis.

November collections reflect October activity. December and January reports will reflect holiday shopping.

The city collected a total of more than $5.8 million in sales and use taxes in November counting nearly $878,000 as its share of sales tax collections in Mesa County. That’s a 15.5 percent increase over November 2020.

The city collected more than $76,000 in use taxes, a smaller and more volatile source of revenue that reflects in part activity in the construction and energy sectors. That was a gain of $13,212 and 20.9 percent year over year.

The November numbers brought sales and use tax collectons for 2021 to a total of more than $63.2 million.

Year-to-date sales tax collections rose more than $10.7 million and 20.4 percent to exceed $53.4 million. The city received almost $8.8 million as its share of county sales tax collections.

City use tax collections increased nearly $140,000 and 15.6 percent to more than $1 million.

Except for a dip in 2020, year-to-date sales and use tax collections have increased in each of the last four years.

The city also collected in November a total of nearly $966,000 in sales and use taxes earmarked for public safety, an increase of almost $111,000 and 13 percent over the same month last year.

That brings the year-to-date total for sales and use tax collections for public safety to more than $10.6 million — a gain of nearly $2.8 million and 35.5 percent over 2020.

The city also collected $362,081 in lodging taxes in November, News Trends Contributors INDICATORS AT A GLANCE n Business filings OpinionCITY TAX COLLECTIONS AT A GLANCE t New business filings in Colorado, 38,211 in the third quarter, down 1.2% from the third quarter of 2020. an increase of $75,407 and 26.3 percent over the same month last Business Briefs Business People Almanac n Confidence s Consumer Confidence Index 115.8 in December, up 3.9. t Leeds Business Confidence Index for Colorado, 56.1 for the fourth quarter, down 11.2. s National Federation of Independent Business Small Here’s a look at Grand Junction collections for November sales, use and lodging taxes. November 2021 November 2020 s Sales tax $4,847,669 $4,139,195 s Use tax $76,423 $74,925 s Lodging tax $362,081 $286,674 year. With the exception of 2020, November lodging tax collections Business Optimism Index have increased over the past four years. 98.4 for November, up 0.2. Through November, the city collected nearly $3.5 million n Foreclosures in lodging taxes year to date. That’s a gain of almost $1.3 million and 58.4 percent over 2020, numbers reflecting in part the effects of the t Foreclosure filings in Mesa County, 2 in COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions last year. December, down from 8 in While year-to-date lodging tax collections dropped in 2020, December 2020. they’ve otherwise increased over the past four years. Lodging tax collections fund Visit Grand Junction, the city s Foreclosure sales in Mesa County, 3 in tourism and destination marketing organization. December, up from But under a ballot measure approved in 2018 doubling the 2 in December 2020. city lodging tax from 3 percent to 6 percent, revenues from the increase are split three ways: 1.25 percent to Visit Grand Junction, n Indexes 1 percent to the Grand Junction Regional Air Service Alliance to s Conference Board Employment support additional direct flights to and from the Grand Junction Trends Index, 114.49 for Regional Airport and 0.75 percent to the Greater Grand Junction November, up 1.46. Sports Commission to promote tourism related to sports activities s Conference Board Leading and events in the Grand Valley. Economic Index 119.9 for So far in 2021, Visit Grand Junction has received $736,455 November, up 1.1%. from the increase, while the Grand Junction Regional Air Service t Institute for Supply Management Alliance has received $441,873 and the Greater Grand Junction Purchasing Managers Index Sports Commission $589,164. F for manufacturing, 58.7% for December, down 2.4%. n Lodging

Consumer Confidence Index increases

A measure of consumer confidence continues to increase on more upbeat expectations for business and labor conditions. The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence Index climbed to 115.8 in December. That’s a gain of 3.9 points over a reading that was revised upward for November. For December, a component of the index tracking current assessments edged down even as a component tracking expectations increased. “Expectations about short-term growth prospects improved, setting the stage for continued growth in early 2022,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.

The proportion of consumers planning to purchase homes, cars and major appliances as well as go on vacations over the next six months increased, Franco said.

Concerns about inflation subsided after hitting a 13-year high in November. Worries about the COVID-19 pandemic also decreased despite the emergence of the omicron variant, she said.

Those challenges will persist, however, Franco said. “Looking ahead to 2022, both confidence and consumer spending will continue to face headwinds from rising prices and an expected winter surge of the pandemic.”

The Conference Board, a member-driven think tank in New York, bases the Consumer Confidence Index on the results of monthly household surveys.

Economists monitor the index because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity. Less optimistic assessment of current business and labor conditions pulled down the present situation component of the index three-tenths of a point from November to 144.1. The proportion of consumers responding to the survey upon which the December index was based who described business conditions as “good” increased two points to 19.9 percent. The share of those who said conditions were “bad” decreased a half point to 26.8 percent. The proportion of those who called jobs “plentiful” retreated Lynn Franco four-tenths of a point to 55.1 percent. The share of those who said jobs were “hard to get” advanced 1.7 points to 12.5 percent. A more upbeat outlook pushed up the expectations component of the index 6.7 points to 96.9. The share of consumers who said they expect business conditions to improve over the next six months rose 1.1 points to 26.7 percent. The proportion of those who said they anticipate worsening conditions fell 1.7 points to 17.9 percent. The share of those expecting more jobs to become available in coming months increased 2.3 points to 25.1 percent. The proportion of those who forecast fewer jobs decreased 4.2 points to 14.8 percent. While 18 percent of consumers said they expect their incomes to increase — down nine-tenths of a point from November — 11.5 percent said they anticipated lower incomes. That’s down two-tenths of a point. s Lodging tax collections in Grand Junction, $$362,081 for November, up 26.3% from November 2020. n Real estate

s Real estate transactions in Mesa County, 562 in December, up 4.8% from December 2020. s Dollar volume of real estate transactions in Mesa County, $256 million in December, up 52.4% from December 2020. n Sales

s Sales and use tax collections in Grand Junction, $5.8 million for November, up 15.5% from November 2020. s Sales and use tax collections in Mesa County, $4.2 million for November, up 15.3% from November 2020. n Unemployment

n Mesa County — 4.7% for November, unchanged.

t Colorado — 5.1% for November, down 0.3. t United States — 4.2% for November, down 0.4.