Taxable sales dip in October

Clark County taxable sales plunged 6.8 percent in October while statewide totals fell 6.2 percent, giving an economist little reason for optimism.

October taxable sales in Clark County sank to $2.78 billion from $2.98 billion a year ago, the Department of Taxation reported Monday. For the first four months of the fiscal year, which started July 1, Clark County taxable sales are off 3.7 percent from a year earlier.

"What we're seeing now is no fundamental change from the bottom that we've been in," said Keith Schwer, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

"We're going to have more of this in the months ahead," Schwer said, noting that the trend may improve in late 2009.

Washoe County showed a 13.9 percent decline in taxable sales for October and a 10 percent decrease for the four months of the new fiscal year. The taxation department reported that taxable sales dropped in nine of Nevada's 17 counties in October.

Gross revenue collections from sales and use taxes totaled $274.6 million, a 7.4 percent decline from October 2007. Tax revenue showed a 5.4 percent decrease from last year for the first four months of the fiscal year.

"The latest release of taxable sales and revenue collection data for the month of October indicates Nevada continues to feel the effects of the slow housing market, volatility in the stock market and overall sluggish economy, and our revenue collections continue to decline accordingly," Gov. Jim Gibbons said in a statement.

In Clark County, autos and furniture showed double-digit declines for October and the first four months of the fiscal year.

Auto and auto parts sales in Clark County dropped 33.5 percent to $212 million for October. For the four months, sales totaled $1 billion, or 21.8 percent less than a year earlier.

Sales at furniture and home furnishing stores shrank 33.4 percent in October and 25.6 percent in the first four months.

Air transportation, which includes tickets purchased by Las Vegans for trips, jumped 18.7 percent in October, but Schwer said one month's data was insufficient to establish a trend. He pointed to a 22.7 percent falloff for the four months that include October.

Auto, home furniture and travel are down nationally, too, Schwer said.

Sales in Clark County's construction categories -- buildings, heavy construction and specialty trade contractors -- increased 12.7 percent to $131.2 million in October from the same month last year.

During the four months ended in October, construction sales taxes grew 16.9 percent.

"Despite the ongoing decline in Nevada's economy, overall construction activity in Southern Nevada is still positive while the decline in consumer spending is evidence of sagging confidence levels," Gibbons said.

In another positive note for locals, Clark County real estate sales and use taxes shot up 116.4 percent to $1.9 million in October from a year ago. Yet taxable sales for the four months remained 79.7 percent below the level of the previous year.

Food services and drinking places sales fell 15.3 percent in October and 11.6 percent for the four months in Clark County.

Statewide sales fell 6.2 percent for the month, bringing the decline for the four months to 4.1 percent.

Contact reporter John G. Edwards at jedwards@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0420. The Associated Press contributed to this report.