Terrebonne tax collections reflect consumer activity

February was a $500,000 month for Terrebonne Parish. More precisely, it was a 28-day period during which sales tax, motel taxes and occupational licensing saw an approximate $500,000 increase in revenue for 2011, beyond what was collected for February 2010.

During the second month of the year, gross collections totaled more than $7.4 million. That amount offered a 7 percent increase from the $6.9 million taken 12 months earlier.

Year-to-date figures show that 2011 gross collections totaled more than $17 million while not quite $16 million was made during the first two months of 2010.

However, the posted gains might be more of a return to normalcy than an indication of real advancement, according to Terrebonne Parish Sales and Use Tax Department Director Chris LaGarde.

“We had increases in just about all categories [for January and February 2011], but it is hard to pinpoint a cause,” LaGarde said. “You really have to go back and compare it to what took place after Hurricane Gustav [in 2008.].”

LaGarde noted that following the September storm, tax collections in January 2009 were up because of repair work talking place throughout the parish and insurance payments secured by businesses and residents.

Then, in January 2010 sales and hotel tax and fees collected through local businesses posted a 26 percent decline from the previous year. “That’s when all the insurance money stopped coming in,” she said.

“In January 2009 we had a fantastic increase,” LaGarde said. “After the drop last year and increases in both January and February of this year we really are just getting back to pre-Gustav levels.”

LaGrade noted the a national recession also came into play as did the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill and drilling moratorium, as far as elements behind the scenes that influence both gains and losses.