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July tax collections show mixed results: restaurant tax up, TRT down year‑over‑year
Summary
County finance staff reported July collections brought transient room tax and other collections closer to budgeted targets, with restaurant tax hitting its highest month on record while transient room tax (TRT) was down about 5% year‑over‑year.
County finance staff reported to the Moab Tourism Advisory Board on Aug. 12 that July tax collections improved the year‑to‑date gap versus budget but showed mixed year‑over‑year performance across tax categories.
Steven Ballast, county finance representative, said tax collections reported for July (the state’s reporting reflects earlier months) reduced the shortfall versus budget: before July the county was about 6% below budget and July’s receipts moved the year‑to‑date shortfall to about 4% below budget.
Why it matters: Transient room tax (TRT) and related visitor taxes fund the tourism office and event grants; changes in those tax lines affect operating and program budgets.
Ballast told the board that restaurant tax in the referenced reporting period was the highest month on record in the state’s reporting history for Moab, and that on a 12‑month year‑over‑year basis restaurant tax was up about 10%. He reported that TRT was about 5% below the prior year on a 12‑month basis. Other categories Ballast cited: sales tax down about 6% year‑over‑year, hospital tax down about 1%, and car‑rental tax down about 11%.
Ballast said some categories are combined for budgeting purposes (for example he combines county highway, public transit, short‑term leasing and OHV car rental into car rental reporting for his budgeting analysis). He emphasized that the July month was a “great month” and moved the year‑to‑date picture in a positive direction even though some categories remain below the prior year.
Ending: Staff said they will follow up with more detailed breakdowns (including Jeep/UTV rental lines and combined TRCCA categories) and will provide further reporting to the board on request.
