Diners and lodgers spent more than $2.2 million in Columbia during October, generating $66,245 from the 3 percent tourism tax.
That made it the best month since the tax started in July.
City Clerk Maria Temples reported the numbers to the Board of Aldermen Tuesday.
Through four months of collections (July through October), the tax has generated $246,802. Annualized, that would come out to more than $740,000.
That’s right in line with the $750,000 a year the city had expected to generate based on sales during the 2018 fiscal year.
Voters in May approved a referendum to charge the extra 3 percent on restaurants and hotels to fund a sportsplex and other parks and tourism projects. The tax began being collected July 1. Proceeds of $275,000 from the tax are being used for the downtown Christmas lights and events being put on by Experience Columbia LLC.
There's a three-month cycle on sales tax collections: During the first month stores collect the tax from customers; during the second month the stores pay the taxes to the Mississippi Department of Revenue; during the third month the Department of Revenue pays the city its portion.
Based on the months stores collect the tax from customers, here are the numbers so far for Columbia:
l July: $57,003
l August: $64,971
l September: $58,584
l October: $66,245
