Taxable Sales Summary – December 2005

TAXATION REVENUE STATISTICS – DECEMBER 2005 Taxable Sales Summary – December 2005 Statewide taxable sales for December 2005 of $4,624,592,265 represents an 8.7% increase over December 2004, and an 11.3% increase for the six months of fiscal year 2006. The largest increases in statewide taxable sales for December were realized by Miscellaneous Retail, up 14.4%; General Merchandise Stores, up 8.7%; Apparel and Accessory Stores, up 17.9%; Wholesale Trade, up 15.7%; and Eating and Drinking Places, up 5.0%; The following major sales indicators represent changes in Nevada’s economic activity for December 2005 compared to December 2004: Statewide Sales Up 8.7 % Clark County Sales Up 8.6 Washoe County Sales Up 7.9 Eating and Drinking Places Statewide Up 5.0 Clark County Eating and Drinking Places Up 5.7 Washoe County Eating and Drinking Places Up 3.0 General Merchandise Stores Up 8.7 Apparel and Accessory Stores Up 17.9 Automotive Dealers and Gasoline Down 0.3 Building Construction and General Contractors Up 33.9 Construction - Special Trade Up 22.1 Business Services Up 10.0 Six counties showed a decrease in taxable sales for December 2005 compared to December 2004; Douglas, Esmeralda, Eureka, Lincoln, Mineral and Storey. All 17 Nevada counties show increased growth in taxable sales for fiscal year to date. Revenue Collections from Sales and Use Taxes - December 2005 Gross revenue collections from sales and use taxes amounted to $357,412,815 for December 2005 which represents a 13.94% increase compared to December 2004 and a 12.67% increase for the six months of fiscal year 2006. Compared to the May 2005 Economic Forum projections, the General Fund portion of the sales and use taxes is 2.86% or $26.7 million above their forecast for fiscal year 2006. Modified Business Tax and Business License Fees The Modified Business Tax passed by the 2003 Legislature became effective October 1, 2003 and at the same time the Business Tax was repealed. The MBT is based on the gross wages paid by employers for each calendar quarter with a deduction for allowable health care expenses paid by employers on behalf of their employees. Two different tax rates are applied. General businesses pay a rate of 0.65% effective July 1, 2005 and Financial Institutions pay a rate of 2%. The Department reports $61,400,757 was collected and distributed to the State general fund for the quarter ending December 31, 2005 for Modified Business Tax from General Businesses and Financial Institutions. This represents a 4.26% increase above the same quarter prior year. Businesses reported $10.3 billion in gross wages and took $713 million in allowable health care deductions for the December quarter, which represents 7% of the gross wages. The Economic Forum May 2005 forecast for this tax is $247 million for fiscal year 2006. The tax revenue for the two quarters of fiscal year 2006 is down by 2.78% or $6.9 million from their forecast. Business License Fees from newly registered businesses or annual renewals amounted to $6,258,511 for the December 2005 quarter which represents a 33.25% increase above the December 2004 quarter collections. This represents a 9.46% increase or approximately $1.9 million above Economic Forum projections. Excise Tax Revenue Collections – December 2005 The Department reports excise tax collections of $125,610,752 for the month of December 2005 increased 9.85% compared to the same month prior year. Compared to the Economic Forum’s May 2005 projections, fiscal year to date cigarette taxes are .82% above projections. The liquor tax is 5.43% above projections. December 2005 collections for Live Entertainment Tax were $495,593, 13.56% below projections for fiscal year to date. The quarter filing for Bank Excise Tax amounted to $633,460, 16.46% above fiscal year projections and for the Real Property Transfer Tax, $42,646,641 was collected for December, which stands at 11.43% above Economic Forum projections. Governor Kenny Guinn’s Comments “Nevada’s economy continues to thrive. Businesses have delivered another successful month of sales for December. The gross revenue numbers for the first six months of fiscal year 2006 show a double-digit increase over the same period the previous fiscal year. This translates into increased revenue for the state, and a continuing boom in job growth in Nevada.”