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Burnet County set a new all-time record for sales tax allocations in August, crushing the old record set earlier this year by more than $40,560, a sign of phenomenal economic growth.
Total sales tax allocations for Burnet County municipalities for August 2021 were $1,825,672.45 — more than $253,600 above last month’s allocation of $1,572,025.73 and an increase of $272,579, or 17.55 percent, above the $1,553,092.76 distributed in August 2020.
The previous all-time record for the county was $1,785,107.82, set this May.
For the year, five of the six municipalities which had collected sales tax both in 2020 and in 2021 — Marble Falls, Horseshoe Bay, Cottonwood Shores, Burnet and Bertram — all have sales tax allocations up by double-digit percentages. Only Granite Shoals is below a 10 percent gain at 7.94 percent for year to date.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announced he has sent cities, counties, transit systems and special purpose taxing districts $1.07 billion in local sales tax allocations for August, 17.4 percent more than in August 2020. These allocations are based on sales made in June by businesses that report tax monthly and on sales made in April, May and June by quarterly filers.
Burnet had sales tax receipts for August 2021 go up 12.03 percent from $273,087.25 in August 2020 to $305,966.67 this month. For the year, sales tax revenue is up 14.81 percent above last year, from $1,814,485.68 at this point in 2020 to $2,083,289.55 through this year.
Bertram had a 2.29 percent increase overall in sales tax allocations, going from $43,244.41 in August 2020 to $44,235.15 this month.
For the year, Bertram is up 11.36 percent from $256,834.27 received in 2020 to this point to $286,021.12 received through eight months of 2021.
The largest sales tax allocation, of course, was received by Marble Falls with $1,187,069.47 — an increase of 17.57 percent above the $1,009661.09 the city received in August 2020. This is the fifth time in the past seven months the city has received more than $1 million in sales tax allocations. Sales tax receipts make up the lion’s share of general fund revenues for the county’s largest city. In July, Marble Falls received $1,030,796.92.
For the year, Marble Falls has collected $7,851,029.35 through eight months, which is 19.48 percent or $1,263,903.03 more than the $6,587.126.32 collected during the same stretch in 2020. If sales tax collections continue at this rate, Marble Falls will set a new record at the end of the year with more than $11.77 million in allocations.
Bolstered by having Horseshoe Bay Resort open and operating in full, sales tax receipts for Horseshoe Bay were up 32.83 percent in August 2021. The city, which straddles the Burnet and Llano county line, received $210,939.16, up from the $158,803.76 received in August 2020. For the year, Horseshoe Bay has received $1,148,680.58 compared to the $904,083.52 received during the same period last year — an increase of 27.05 percent.
Granite Shoals saw sales tax revenues drop by 4.76 percent from $45,899.72 in August 2020 to $43,711.25 this August, the only city to see a decrease. For the year, however, sales tax allocations are up 7.94 percent from $273,016.11 received through this point in 2020 to $294,711.85 received up to this point this year.
Cottonwood Shores had the highest percentage increase in sales tax receipts for August 2021, jumping 36.78 percent, up from $22,396.53 to $30,634.94. This increase coincides with the opening of the new Bay View Restaurant. For the year, Cottonwood Shores has received $176,028.36, up 28.38 percent above the $137,114.52 received through this point last year.
Highland Haven’s third-ever sales tax allocations appear on the chart this month as the city received $3,115.81. For the year, the city has received $7,545.27.
Four cities in Burnet County — Marble Falls, Burnet, Granite Shoals and Highland Haven — collect the maximum allowable sales tax rate of two percent, while Bertram and Horseshoe Bay collect 1.75 percent and Cottonwood Shores collects 1.5 percent.
