September 22, 2023
By: Dwayne Page
DeKalb County’s local option sales tax collections for August in DeKalb County took a sharp decline from July and it may be due in part to the state’s three-month exemption on the sales tax on groceries which was put into effect August 1 and runs through October 31.
According to the Tennessee Department of Revenue, DeKalb County took in $106,885 in local option sales taxes for August 2023, down from $210,447 just a month earlier in July 2023.
Although local option sales tax collections in August were down for the county as a whole and the City of Smithville compared to July, the other three towns in the county saw increases.
In Smithvi lle, August 2023 collections were at $365,273, down from $422,519 in July. Alexandria’s collections grew from $29,741 in July to $30,418 in August. Dowelltown’s collections jumped from $3,044 in July to $4,437 in August and Liberty’s went from $10,528 in July to $11,496 in August.
Net collections of local option sales taxes for the county and cities combined in August were at $518,510, down from $676,282 in July, 2023.
Comparing August 2022 and August 2023, DeKalb County’s collections were also sharply down this year.
For August 2023, DeKalb County saw collections of local option sales taxes at $106,885, down from $203,812 in August 2022.
Collections were also down in two of the four towns in August compared to last year in the same month.
In Smithville, August 2023 local option sales taxes totaled $365,273 compared to $412,765 August 2022. Collections for Liberty in August 2023 were $11,496 down from $14,108 collected in August 2022.
Dowelltown took in $ 4,437 in August 2023, up from $3,671 in August 2022. Alexandria saw an increase to $30,418 in August 2023, up from $24,550 in August 2022.
Net Collections with the county and cities combined showed a drop in local option sales tax collections in August 2023 at $518,510, down from $658,908 in August 2023.
August sales tax collections reflect previous month activity.