Sales Tax Revenue is Up

Sales tax is the single greatest source of revenue for our City, far exceeding any other source. For the Q4 period our sales tax revenues increased 2.9% from the year before, which is a good sign, but, sales tax in South Orange County as a whole grew 3.5% and in the County it was 3.6%. So while we did well, most of the rest of the County did better.

The latest Sales Tax Update from the City shows a number of interesting trends –

• Sales tax per capita for Lake Forest trailed the average for the County for 11 of the last 13 quarters. Our city averages about $4000 per capita and the County averages about $4500.
• Year over year, our gross receipts for the 3rd and 4th quarter combined were up nearly $1,000,000.
• Year over year, among the top 15 business types, we saw increases in sales tax from auto leasing (349%), electrical equipment (31%), and specialty stores (17%) and decreases in office equipment (-14.4%) and grocery stores (-1.5%)
• Year over year by major business groups, we saw increases in business and industry, consumer goods, building and construction, fuel and service stations, but decreases in restaurants and food and drugs.
• The major sources of revenue are Business and Industry (23%), Core Goods (18%), Restaurants (12%), Building and Construction (11%), Autos and Transportation (11%), Fuel (8%), and Food/Drugs (5%).
• The top 25 producers include: Arco AM/PM, Brad & Zoe, Chevron, Circle K, Daimler Trust, Ferguson Enterprises, Ganahl Lumber, Home Depot, Home Goods, Irvine Subaru, Lake Forest Express Wash, Mercedes Benz, Oakley, Panasonic Avionics, Proactiv Company, Quinn CAT Company, Ralphs, Rancho Pkwy Shell, Ross, Sanmina Sci, SeneGence International, Target, USA Gas, Walmart, and Walters Wholesale Electric.

It is vital that we “Put Lake Forest First” when we get gas, eat out, purchase goods and services. By keeping the money in Lake Forest we help our businesses, provide jobs, and grow our sales tax revenue so that the City can continue to provide programs and services.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Jim Gardner is on the City Council for Lake Forest where he serves as Mayor. You can check him out on LinkedIn and/or Facebook and you can share your thoughts about the City at Lake Forest Town Square on Facebook. His Twitter handle is @DrJimGardner. His comments are not meant to reflect official City Policy.

Dr. Gardner has office hours every Tuesday from 4 pm to 6 pm at the City Hall. In addition, he holds a town hall meeting every quarter. The next meeting will be Aug 16 at 7 pm at the Lake 1 Clubhouse (Ridge Route).