Auto sales help drive huge increase in taxable sales

Driven by double-digit increases in auto sales and food services and drinking places, Carson City reported a 12.6 percent increase in taxable sales for August.

The capital reported $74.1 million in sales by 2,551 different businesses.

Motor vehicle sales reached $22.6 million, a 13.6 percent jump. The Food Services and Drinking Places category was up 14.3 percent to $8.5 million.

General Merchandise Stores, Carson’s second largest taxable sales generator, was also up but by just 2.9 percent to $12.3 million.

With the Sportsman’s store up and running, that category nearly doubled in sales to $1.35 million. There were also double-digit increases in a long list of manufacturing and construction categories from metal fabrication to furniture making, chemical production and plastic/rubber products.

Douglas County too was up strongly, a 12.1 percent rise to $58.2 million. Auto sales increased 36 percent to $2.9 million, wholesale durable Goods added 33.4 percent to $3.4 million ans a number of construction categories were up as well. But Douglas didn’t get a lot of help from what are normally its two biggest tax producers. General Merchandise Stores were down 2 percent to $8.2 million and the Food Services and Drinking Places category increased just 3.2 percent to $14.5 million.

Storey County reported an 87 percent increase in taxable sales to $13.7 million. That increase undoubtedly includes the initial work on the Tesla battery plant ahead of the special legislative session in early September.

The state as a whole also had a good month, seeing total taxable sales rise 7.5 percent over the same month last year to a total of more than $4 billion. The story was in the same short list of categories led by auto sales and Food Services.

That rise was led by the 12.2 percent increase reported from Clark County, a total of just more than $3 billion in sales. Washoe County was up as well, reporting a respectable but moderate increase of 3.6 percent to $571.9 million for August.

Churchill County was one of nine Nevada counties that didn’t share in the wealth, reporting a 57 percent decrease in total sales to $21.7 million.

The biggest decrease was in the Utilities category which went from $4.27 million a year ago to just $134,681 in taxable sales this August. Several construction categories also took a significant hit in Churchill.

Lyon pretty much held its own in August, dipping just three tenths to $29.8 million despite a strong performance in the auto sales category — up 14.1 percent to $3.37 million.

The August report follows a 6.3 percent increase reported for July. Despite that, the General Fund portion of sales tax collections is basically flat against the projection by the Economic Forum — down by just three tenths of a percent.