Holiday shoppers spent more in Mission, Edinburg and Pharr during December 2010 than they did during December 2009, with each city notching a double-digit increase in sales tax revenue.
The season wasn’t as kind to McAllen, the region’s retail hub, which watched sales tax revenue fall 2.43 percent, according to data released Wednesday by Texas’ Comptroller of Public Accounts. Still, Hidalgo County’s most populous city will receive $6.97 million Friday, more than the other three cities combined.
“It's a big number, but in relative terms McAllen isn't exactly going to be begging for food stamps tomorrow,” said Mike Blum, partner and managing broker at NAI Rio Grande Valley, a commercial real estate brokerage. The 2.43 percent decline represents about $174,000.
Retailers collect sales tax — paid on most retail sales, rentals, leases and taxable services — each month and send it to the Comptroller, which allocates the money to cities two months later. On Friday, cities will receive their February allocation, which represents December sales.
Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, which opened a Pharr location off Expressway 83 in September, likely accounts for much of the city’s 16.47 percent increase, Blum said. The boost pushed Pharr’s February sales tax allocation above $1 million for the first time since May 2009.
For smaller cities such as Pharr and Mission, a single business can dramatically ...
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