August taxable sales climb statewide

With its two top tax categories either flat or down, August taxable sales were up statewide.

Statewide, total sales climbed 3.7 percent to $3.8 billion. Auto sales were up 10.1 percent and construction categories more than 20 percent.

Led by a doubling of sales reported by utilities, Churchill County reported an overall 10.9 percent increase to $50.6 million. The yearly total since July 1 is $67.9 million, but if adjusted for tax abatements, the figure would be a little more than $61 million. The county had almost $4.3 million reported in that category.

Not taken into consideration is almost $1 million in tax abatements given to alternative energy in the county. Adjusted figures would take the amount down to $1 million or less. A spike in taxable sales was also found in Electric Equipment Appliance and Manufacturing that grew 8 percent to $25.9 million.

Durable Goods and Nondurable Goods also saw significant jumps from one year ago, increasing 62.6 percent and 25.5 percent, respectively. Durable Goods grew to $1.73 million from $1.067 million.

Merchant wholesales of durable goods increased 62 percent to $1.7 million, and electrical equipment manufacturing nearly 9 percent to $25.9 million. But auto sales were down 24.5 percent in Churchill to $2.38 million, offsetting some of those gains. Food and Beverage Stores saw one of its biggest gains in months with a 16.4 percent improvement to $910,412;

Food Services and Drinking Places, however, dropped 2 percent, from $2.31 million to $2.27 million. Officials said the small drop could be attributed to the federal government’s sequestration that resulted in numerous layoffs at Naval Air Station Fallon. Accommodations also grew in taxable sales.

General Merchandise Stores, which includes Walmart, grew slightly, 1.2 percent, to $3.53 million

Auto sales, normally Carson City’s top generator of taxable sales, came in at a respectable $19.8 million for the month. But that was up just 0.6 percent from a strong August 2012.

Sales by general merchandise stores, which usually are just a bit less than auto sales, were off 10.6 percent to just over $12 million.

Other key categories were mixed, with building material sales down nearly 16 percent to $5.5 million while Food Services and Drinking Places bumped up 3.5 percent to $7.4 million for the month.

The overall result was a drop of just under $4 million, to $65.8 million in total sales for August.

Douglas County suffered a similar fate in August, reporting a 5.5 percent decrease to $51.9 million. There, general merchandise stores reported an 18 percent increase to $8.3 million, and auto sales were up 5.3 percent to $2.1 million. But wholesales of durable goods fell more than 19 percent to $2.5 million, and building material sales dropped 17.6 percent to $4.5 million.

In Storey County, building material sales jumped 138 percent to more than $235,000, and food services and drinking places increased 44 percent to $819,784.

Lyon County reported $29.8 million in sales, just about the same as the county had a year ago. But the 2012 number was skewed sharply down by a correction that retroactively cut more than $23 million from what was reported a year ago, leaving just $6.4 million. Taxation officials said the change doesn’t actually reflect lost dollars, that it’s just on paper because the amount is abated green-energy credits.

Washoe County had a solid month with a 6.6 percent increase to $552 million. Clark County reported taxable sales of $2.69 million, a 3.6 percent gain. Washoe’s was driven largely by a 17 percent increase in auto sales to more than $83.5 million.