Taxable sales in county up 5.4% in October

Taxable sales in the county were up again in October, closing the fourth month of the fiscal year 2017 up 5.4 percent from the same time period last year.

October saw the county generate $43.4 million in taxable sales, outgrossing October 2015’s total of $41.1 million.

So far, through the first three months of the fiscal year, this year is up 6.8 percent over last year for the same time period. Nye County has seen $183.6 million in sales thus far, which is ahead of fiscal year 2016 during the first three month’s total of $171.8 million.

Both totals are ahead of the statewide averages, as October saw a 3-percent increase over the same month last year and year-to-date the state is up 5.9 percent overall.

Motor vehicle sales in the county continued to increase, as October saw $6.5 million in taxable sales, a 14.1 percent jump over the same month last year.

Year-to-date fiscal year 2017 motor vehicle sales have totaled $25.6 million, a 6-percent jump over the same time period last fiscal year.

Motor vehicle sales were up 7.2 percent at the close of fiscal year 2016 and has been a positive gainer for the better part of the past two years.

Co-owner of Saitta-Trudeau Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge, Don Trudeau, said that business that’s coming from over the hump as helped a lot in the county.

“For us, the Las Vegas economy seems to be recovering well and about 20 percent of our sales come out of Las Vegas,” Trudeau said. “If someone comes from Las Vegas and buys a car here, we collect the sales tax.”

Trudeau said that a lot of the business from Las Vegas is driven by technology.

“Normally, it’s stuff that they have already done before getting here,” he said. “A lot of what happens now in the car business happens on the internet. So people go online and they find the vehicle they’re looking for on the lot and they come here to get that.”

With the strong sales the past couple of years, Trudeau said he sees the car business continuing its increasing pace.

“I think that we’re going to see taxable sales to continue to go up,” he said. “Our economy here, it seems like there’s a lot going here, so it seems like we’re on the verge of really seeing the economy improve in town.”

Getting back on the positive side after a rough September, where it saw a 30.1-percent decrease, furniture and home furnishing stores in Nye County saw an increase of 3 percent, with $280,963 in sales.

Year-to-date in fiscal year 2017, furniture and home furnishing store sales have drawn $1.7 million in sales, an increase of 26.6 percent over 2016’s $1.3 million during the same time span.

With taxable sales totaling $3.8 million in October, a 7.3 percent increase over the previous year during the same month, food services and drinking places jumped to the positive side cumulatively for the first time this fiscal year.

Food services and drinking places have brought in $15 million in taxable sales, a 1.9-percent increase over the first three months of fiscal year 2016’s total of $14.7 million.

Neighboring Clark County saw even slimmer increases as October saw a jump of 2.8 percent, while the first three months of the fiscal year is up 3.8 percent.

Contact reporter Mick Akers at makers@pvtimes.com. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.