State Sales Taxes Drop, Ending 62-Month Growth Streak

Texas collected less state sales tax revenue in June than it did in the same month a year earlier, ending a remarkable 62-month streak of growth, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said Wednesday.

The state collected $2.2 billion in state sales taxes in June, down 1.4 percent compared with June 2014. The figure reflects monthly sales made in May by businesses that report taxes monthly.

"This slight decline was expected due to the slowdown in the oil and gas mining sector, and is in line with the biennial revenue estimate presented in January," Hegar said in a statement.

Texas rig counts recently concluded a six-month nosedive as the industry has reeled from dropping oil prices. As of last Thursday, there were 363 oil and gas rigs across the state, down from 900 rigs back in November, according to Baker Hughes, which publishes weekly industry data.

Read more: http://www.texastribune.org/2015/07/08/state-sales-taxes-drop-ending-62-month-growth-stre/