Sales tax revenues increase in South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Quarterly reports on the sales tax received by the City of South Lake Tahoe and El Dorado County (EDC) were released this week. The quarter ending September 2019 shows the County's taxable sales in the unincorporated area grew by 4.3 percent when compared to the same period in 2018. In South Lake Tahoe, taxable sales grew by 6.0 percent. County-wide including both cities within its boundaries saw a 5.1 percent increase. In comparison, the Sacramento region was up 4.5 percent.

Both figures reflect actual sales after errors in reporting caused by the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration (CDTFA) sales tax reporting software reflected much different results. According to EDC Auditor-Controller, Joe Harn, the quarterly sales tax reports are not very useful for analysis or for sales tax projections because of these errors.

In South Lake Tahoe, auto-transportation, hotels, and family apparel enjoyed a brisk sales quarter according to the City's Administrative Services Director Debbie McIntyre.

Expected openings of new eateries boosted the fast/casual dining tax base, McIntyre said. The top 25 revenue producers in the City are, in alphabetical order, Aisle 1, Azul Latin Kitchen, Base Camp Pizza, California Burger, CVS Pharmacy, DIY Center, Grocery Outlet, Heavenly Sports, Izzy's Burger Spa, Jim Bagan Toyota, KB Chevron, Kmart, Landing Tahoe Resort & Spa, McDonald's, McP's Pub, Meeks, Raley's, Riva Grill, Ross, Safeway, Sports LTD, Tahoe Wellness, TJ Maxx, and Up Shirt Creek.

The new Wayfair law brought in revenues from the county and state pools to both the City and County. The new revenue was generated from online sales tax.

Gross receipts in the City from point-of-sale were $4,597,739, from county pool of online sales $1,127,956 and $2,337 from the state pool.

On the West Slope, higher than expected gas prices and the Express Fuel, recently opened by the Shingle Springs Band of Miwok Indians, pushed the increase in sales tax revenues from service stations to nearly a 12 percent increase, according to Harn.

Gross receipts in the unincorporated area of the county were $3,221,327 from point-of-sales, from county pool of online sales $791,711 and $1,374 from the state pool.

Their top 25 businesses (which include South Shore businesses outside the city limits) were Arco AM PM, Broadridge Output Solutions, Cameron Park 76, Camp Richardson Resort, Chevron, Crystal View Station, CVS Pharmacy, Daimler Trust, Express Fuel, Green Valley Arco, Heavenly Valley Cal Base Lodge, Lees Fee & Western Store, Meeks, Mercedes Benz of El Dorado Hills, Musco Sports Lighting, My Goods Market, Quik Stop, Safeway, Safeway Fuel, Shell, Shingle Springs Honda, Shingle Springs Nissan Subaru, Target, TJ Maxx, Walmart.

“Although the above-reported increases are significant, the County has a lot of work to do in creating an environment that fosters more retail shopping opportunities locally. El Dorado County per capita sales are significantly lower than unincorporated Placer or Sacramento counties,” said Harn.

The prospect for higher revenues in the future from on-line sales is excellent according to Harn. Several on-line retailers without a physical presence in El Dorado County had increases in sales tax collections in excess of 40 pecent. Further, because of a recent US Supreme Court decision, South Dakota vs. Wayfair, the State of California began effective April 1, 2019, requiring thousands of out of state online retailers to collect retail sales tax on behalf of the County and the City.