PRESS RELEASE: State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled Nearly $4 Billion in July

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August 1, 2023

State Sales Tax Revenue Totaled
Nearly $4 Billion in July

(AUSTIN) — Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar today said state sales tax revenue totaled $3.99 billion in July, 2.7 percent more than in July 2022. The majority of July sales tax revenue is based on sales made in June and remitted to the agency in July.

“The rate of sales tax revenue moderated last month, consistent with a slowing pace of economic growth and declining price inflation,” Hegar said. “Growth in receipts from sectors driven by business spending, which have seen the largest increases in year-over-year remittances this year, slowed markedly, with receipts from the manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors falling below last year’s levels. Receipts from oil and gas mining grew at the slowest pace since May 2021, when the sector began its sharp recovery from the pandemic.

“Remittances from the retail trade sector overall were slightly down from a year ago. Among retail subsectors, receipts from the electronic shopping sector grew robustly as online sales continue to win market share from physical stores. Receipts from home improvement centers and furniture and home goods stores were down once again, as the home remodeling boom of the pandemic continues to fade. Receipts from sporting goods and hobby stores, another sector that had flourished in the pandemic, also dropped significantly. 

“Restaurant receipts increased slightly less than the inflation rate for food away from home in June.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in July 2023 was up 4.5 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 56 percent of all tax collections.

Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $625 million, up 3 percent from July 2022;
• motor fuel taxes — $330 million, up 2 percent from July 2022;
• oil production tax — $437 million, down 37 percent from July 2022;
• natural gas production tax — $65 million, down 88 percent from July 2022;
• hotel occupancy tax — $71 million, down 3 percent from July 2022; and
• alcoholic beverage taxes — $149 million, up less than 1 percent from July 2022.

For details on all monthly collections, visit the Comptroller’s Monthly State Revenue Watch. For an extensive history of tax policy developments and fees from 1972 to 2022, visit our updated Sources of Revenue publication.