By Robert Medley
Managing Editor
Sales tax revenues for Okarche dropped in July, the Oklahoma Tax Commission reports, but the town budget should not be affected, a town official said.
The July check is for $49,165, a 30% decrease compared to last year.
In 2019, the sales tax check was $71,085.
Use tax for July in Okarche is $12,688 for 2020 compared to $18,837 last year.
Okarche residents live in both Canadian and Kingfisher counties.
Brian Schieber, Okarche Treasurer, said the town budgets for about $50,000 a month in sales tax but has seen bigger increases that have fluctuated over the past year. So the July check is not going to cause an economic crisis.
“We’ve always taken a very conservative stance in our budget. So it is not detrimental to our operating budget or what we currently have in the works,” Schieber said.
Okarche saw a slight rebound in June sales tax revenue despite the economic shutdowns.
The sales tax revenue for July is expected soon, Schieber said.
A dip in sales tax receipts were noticed in May but revenues rebounded slightly in June.
Okarche’s finances are stable, Schieber said.
“Overall it is pretty stable. We did have a month it dipped down but that was to be expected. But overall, we are holding in there pretty well,” Schieber said.
With businesses reopened, the June sales tax check was $69,421.That compared to a total of $72,770 for the same period in 2019.
Okarche town limits are in both Canadian and Kingfisher counties.
In June, the total includes $44,478 in sales tax coming in from Canadian County and $24,943 from Kingfisher County.
The pandemic affected businesses in March and April.
The May sales tax report was $46,610 with a dip to $16,003 in Canadian County and $30,607 from Kingfisher County. The May check in 2019 for Okarche was $68,717 with $35,663 from Canadian County sales tax and $33,054 from Kingfisher County sales tax.
Use tax for Okarche was up in June with a total $19,252 compared to $15,847 in 2019.
In June, Canadian County use tax was $1,296 compared to $1,434 in 2019.
In June in Kingfisher County, use tax was $17,956 compared to $14,413 in 2019.
In May, total Okarche use tax was $10,801, down compared to $17,713 for May, 2019.
