Harlan Kirgan
Sales tax collections from January through May in Eunice were $2,264,744, up 1 percent from the $2,241,524 collected during the same period in 2017, according to statistics from the St. Landry Parish School Board Sales Tax Division.
Total sales tax collections in St. Landry Parish were nearly flat with the year-to-date total of $28,306,441, down $22,600 from the $28,329,011 collected January to May in 2017.
Opelousas’ January through May collections were $4,137,378, down 3.4 percent from the $4,283,953 collected in the same period in 2017.
The parish sales tax total includes collections for the parish government, School Board, solid waste, law enforcement, special tax districts and municipalities.
In a May-to-May comparison, Eunice sales tax collections were $429,565, down $17,982 from May 2017, a 4.4 percent decrease.
Opelousas’ May collection total of $772,050 was $1,347 down from May 2017’s total.
St. Landry Parish’s May total of $5,340,942 was up $258,709 or 5 percent from May 2017.
In Eunice, May sales tax collections of $429,565 were down $56,667 from April.
In St. Landry Parish May sales tax collections were $5,340,942, down $1,442,606 from April, a 21 percent decrease.
In Opelousas, the May collections of $772,050 were down $209,484 from April, a 21 percent decrease.
The sales tax rate in Eunice is 10.75 percent. Of that 5 percent is state, 3.55 percent is parish and 2.2 percent is city.
Unincorporated areas in St. Landry Parish pay a 10.5 percent sales tax revenue, which includes 5 percent state and 5.5 percent parish tax rates that includes the 2 percent Smooth Ride Home Program tax.
On April 1, 2016, the state sales tax rate rose by 1 percent. The rate is to change in July depending on legislative action.