Taxable sales and purchases explode in second quarter
Taxable sales and purchases explode in second quarter By MARVIN BAKER Driven largely by oil production, communities in Mountrail County experienced substantial growth in taxable sales and purchases in the second quarter of 2008. Two of the communities, New Town and Stanley, were among those cities in North Dakota with the greatest gain in taxable sales and purchases, according to state Tax Commissioner Cory Fong. New Town had the fifth largest percentage gain in the second quarter at 78.4 percent. Stanley topped the chart with a whopping 154.8 percent increase. But it doesn’t stop there. Ross, although not one of the 50 largest communities, witnessed a 206 percent gain. Kathryn Strombeck, a research analyst with the Tax Department, said the increase in Ross indicates that agriculture remains a strong factor bumping the economy in Mountrail County. A grain elevator, organic feed and seed plant and implement dealer are paramount for sales in that community. In addition, Plaza and Parshall also noted impressive gains in taxable sales and puchases. Plaza’s increase was 57.44 percent, while Parshall’s gain was 17.24 percent. "In your region it’s oil, but there are other sectors like manufacturing and agriculture that are fueling some economic growth throughout the state," Strombeck said. "We do really have a strong economy right now." New Town’s taxable sales and purchases in the second quarter totated $2.48 million, compared to $1.39 million during the same period in 2007. Taxable sales in New Town totaled $1.97 million with taxable purchases hitting $512,000. Parshall’s taxable sales and purchases in April, May and June totaled $588,425, compared to $501,884 for the same period in 2007. Because Parshall’s population wasn’t in the top 50 in the state, more detailed statistics weren’t immediately available. Plaza’s gain, although smaller than Parshall in population, was nearly as impressive with a second quarter of $346,772 compared to $220,258 in 2007. Looking at other communities in North Dakota with similar population, New Town held its own, sometimes outgaining somewhat larger communities. As an example, New Town, with a population of 1,367, was $2.48 million, while New Rockford, population 1,463, was $2.07 million, Linton, population 1,321, was $2.29 million, Garrison, population 1,318, was $3.16 million, Cando, population 1,3.42, was $2.2 million and Crosby, population 1.089, was $2.45 million.
