Flat month for most of western Nevada in sales tax collections

March is the month Douglas County's string of double-digit taxable sales increases came to an end.

Douglas officials have been enjoying huge increases in sales for several months since the opening of a shopping center anchored by Target and Home Depot just south of Carson City.

However, March figures were only 4.7 percent more than the same month of 1999.

That's still better than Carson City and Lyon County, which showed no increase over a year ago.

Statewide, total sales rose 2.5 percent to $2.7 billion.

In Douglas, sales in one category - general merchandise stores - were up from $244,630 to nearly $1.9 million. But there were decreases in numerous other categories. Douglas finished the month with a total of $45.1 million in taxable sales.

In Carson City, the bright spots were auto dealers and gasoline sales, up 12.3 percent to $18.4 million, and miscellaneous retail, which increased 69 percent to $9.4 million.

But there were enough categories in the red to leave the capital .33 percent down for the month at $67 million.

In Lyon County, the story was much the same. Auto dealers and gasoline reported a 12.3 percent increase to $3.3 million and wholesale trade goods increased 67 percent to $1.7 million. But other categories, including food stores which had been up since Smiths opened in the Dayton corridor, were down in taxable sales.

Total Lyon County sales for March were $19.1 million.

Statewide, the numbers were led by an 8.4 percent increase in eating and drinking places and a 9.6 percent rise in auto dealers and gasoline sales.

Throughout the state, higher gas prices were blamed for the rise in that category.

Several counties were down in taxable sales. But hardest hit by far was Esmeralda, where total taxable sales dropped 69 percent from $2.3 million to just under $700,000 for March. The blame falls on the near collapse of the mining industry in that area caused by the drop in gold prices that shut down several mines and forced layoffs at those remaining open.