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Aurora sales tax rose 9% in February after a new large taxpayer’s payments were allocated to the city
Summary
City staff reported February 2025 sales tax collections of $23.8 million, a 9% increase over February 2024 driven largely by a newly allocated large business and a change in filing frequency; staff warned the gain may not fully persist and year-to-date growth remains below the 4.5% budget assumption.
Aurora City staff reported that February 2025 sales tax collections totaled $23,800,000, about 9% above February 2024, driven in large part by payments from a newly identified large taxpayer and by changes in filers' reporting frequency.
City sales tax analyst Bill Levine said the month’s headline result combined two effects: a modest increase in the number of taxpayers and the allocation of a previously disputed stream of business-to-business sales to Aurora. "If you come away from this meeting and you feel really positive, you haven't absorbed my full message. If you come away and are really depressed, you haven't absorbed my full message," Levine said, framing the report as "good news, bad news." Levine told the committee that January showed 1.6% growth in the number of filers (measured as anyone who submitted a positive sales tax amount) and that February showed a 12.9% increase in monthly filers, a change he attributes in part to a filing-frequency shift.
Levine said the larger factor was a new taxpayer whose business-to-business sales took place near Denver International Airport. For confidentiality reasons he did not name the company, but said the firm had generated about five months of sales activity while the allocation of the tax to Denver or Aurora was under review. "They spent 5 months figuring that out and all the while generating 5 months worth of business," Levine said. When the activity was determined to be Aurora activity, the city received a "very large check," the largest he had seen in some time. He added that "if you were to remove this single sales tax check out of the thousands that we get...9% growth becomes a 2% decline." Levine cautioned that the five months of accumulated payments are not likely to repeat as a single lump sum, though he said the company appears to be doing ongoing monthly business that could produce consistent receipts if the contract continues.
City staff also reported year-to-date collections up 2.1%. Levine noted that the adopted budget assumes 4.5% growth for the year; the current YTD pace remains below that target. Committee members asked follow-up questions about the nature of the new taxpayer and whether the activity was likely to be recurring. Levine said the activity is more like ongoing industry-to-industry sales (which tend to be stable) than a one-time equipment purchase, which can produce a single high month followed by low activity.
The committee did not take a formal vote on this informational report. Members asked for ongoing updates and for contextual analysis showing what the city would need to see in future months to reach the budgeted 4.5% growth.
Levine and council members stressed that the February result improved the city’s position compared with the prior month but does not yet meet the budget assumption.
