Taxable sales recover slightly
BY ALYSSA MEIER
Editor
McLean County taxable sales are still down from 2017, but recent numbers show some slight improvement.
After declining seven percent from the first quarter of 2017 to the same period in 2018, McLean County’s taxable sales showed some promise between April and June. According to a report from the N.D. Tax Commissioner office, McLean County taxable sales dropped three percent -- from $18.7 million to $18.1 million -- between quarter two of 2017 and quarter two of 2018. Taxable sales and purchases were down 1.75 percent, dropping from $19.1 million to $18.8 million.
The figures are an improvement from the 7.7 percent decline in taxable sales and 7.2 percent drop in taxable sales and purchases observed in the first three months of the year.
As a state, North Dakota taxable sales increased by 8.25 percent and taxable sales and purchases went up 9.46 percent in quarter two. McLean County is one of 26 counties that saw a decline in taxable sales in quarter two, with 27 recording a rise.
Showing the biggest increase between quarter two of 2017 and 2018 was McKenzie County with a 45 percent increase, Golden Valley County with a 55 percent increase and Logan County with a 62 percent increase. The biggest drops were observed in Mercer County, which had an 18 percent decrease; Slope County, which saw a 21 percent decline; and Burke County, which decreased by 26 percent.
Twenty one out of North Dakota’s fifty largest cities, including one in McLean County, also saw an increase. The county’s largest city, Garrison, dropped by 5.7 percent in both categories, with a $448,417 decrease in taxable sales and a $444,678 drop in taxable sales and purchases.
