Nevada taxable sales down 18 percent in September

Taxable sales continued their downward slide in September as merchants reported a total of just under $3.2 billion.

That is 17.7 percent less than September 2008.

Things were worse in Carson City, where total sales fell by 23.8 percent to just $54.5 million. Motor vehicle sales were the biggest culprit, slumping more than 35 percent after the end of the "Cash for Clunkers" program. Statewide auto sales did better, although still negative by 20.6 percent.

Even so, motor vehicle sales remained Carson City's largest tax generator with $9.9 million in sales for the month.

Carson's second largest category, general merchandise stores, also suffered. The total of $9.7 million in sales was a 19 percent decline from a year ago.

In all, only one of Nevada's 17 counties reported an increase for September. Driven by a huge increase in professional, scientific and technical services associated with the Hawthorne Army ammunition dump, Mineral County's taxable sales rose 31.6 percent to $4 million.

The largest single decrease reported by Nevada's counties was in Churchill which, until two months ago, had been defying the statewide downward trend. The decrease there was more than 56 percent to just $20.1 million in sales.

Statewide, construction industry categories continued to suffer. In September, they declined a total of 56.7 percent.

Revenue collections for sales taxes fell 12.7 percent in September to $247.7 million. That decrease would have been 18 percent without counting the more than $38 million in collections under the tax amnesty program.