Sales Tax
Butler County Warren County Ohio
2007 $41,317,070 $26,750,180 $1,700,291,249
2008 $33,112,821 $26,612,718 $1,735,329,710
2009 $29,766,768 $26,201,291 $1,659,031,582
2010 $29,589,370 $27,206,740 $1,741,144,032
2011 $30,745,215 $28,359,838 $1,827,462,704
Source: Records of the Ohio Department of Taxation’s Revenue Accounting Division
People spent more money in Butler and Warren counties last year than the previous two years, a sign some say the economy is rebounding.
Sales tax collections in two of Ohio’s top growing counties increased in 2011 over 2010 and in Warren County the amount is the highest it has been in five years, a newspaper examination shows.
Ohio’s sale tax collections also have increased the past five years.
Revenues collected by the state for Butler County last year rose to just more than $30.7 million, a 3.9 percent lift and the first sales tax increase in four years, according to records of the Ohio Department of Taxation.
The sales tax revenue increase is a good indication of where the economy is headed and “a good start,” according to Pete Landrum, Butler County’s assistant county administrator and Office of Management and Budget director.
“Sales tax equates to a little over 40 percent of the general fund revenues, so growth there helps 40 percent of our revenues,” Landrum said. “That is a very good thing.”
However, while the increase is a good start, sales tax revenues “can change in a heartbeat” when people stop spending due to economic concerns, he said.
To get a better picture of how smooth the road to economic recovery will be, one must factor in the 30 percent in revenue the housing market generates for the county, Landrum said.
“Those items are not going anywhere for a very long time,” he said, noting that reported increases in the amount of homes sold don’t mean as much when houses are worth less than they were before the economic downturn hit in 2008.
“They may sell more houses but the fee collected each time is far less,” he said.
Revenues collected by the state each month are generated by the previous month’s sales.
Each county’s monthly revenues do not end up in county coffers until two months after they are collected, Landrum said.
The county has no way of knowing precisely which areas contribute the most to sales tax revenue increases because the state will not provide information that specific, he said.
Butler County boosted sales tax from 0.50 percent to 1 percent in 2006 to raise revenue for the county’s 800 megahertz emergency communications system, then dropped it to 0.75 percent in 2008. That, coupled with the economic downturn, caused sales tax revenues to tumble for three consecutive years.
In Warren County, which has two 0.5 percent sales taxes, revenues collected by the state on the county’s behalf amounted to nearly $28.36 million, marking a second consecutive year of growth.
Revenues from the tax, which dropped by 0.5 percent and 1.5 percent in 2008 and 2009, respectively, rose by 3.8 percent in 2010 and 4.2 percent in 2011.
The county, which is anchored by Kings Island and The Beach Waterpark in Mason, attracts visitors from across the region as one of the Ohio’s top tourism destinations. Sales tax revenues in Warren County account for 46 percent of the $61 million general fund for county operations and services, according to Commissioner Pat South.
“I thank God for our tourism industry,” she said. “I think the tourism industry ... has helped keep our sales tax relatively stable through this economy and then even (produce) increases in the past two years, though modest but still increases.”
Retail and commercial hotspots such as Kings Auto Mall in Deerfield Twp. and Cincinnati Premium Outlets in Monroe also play a significant role in sales tax revenues, South said.
“The outlet mall opening (in 2009) certainly lends itself to that stability,” she said.
Commissioner Dave Young said Warren County’s strength extends beyond the tourism industry.
“We’re so broad and diverse that even during the worse of economic times, Warren County has a lot to offer businesses,” Young said. “There’s just a lot of activity and when there’s activity in your region, that generates into tax revenue. That’s why we’re in the best financial shape of any county in the state. We have a lot going on and a lot to offer.”
Ohio, which collects its own 5.5 percent sales tax, saw increases of 3 percent in 2010 and 3.5 percent in 2011 after a slowdown in 2007 and 2008 and a drop in 2009.
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