DRIVING THE LOCAL ECONOMY AUTO DEALERS, BIG RETAILERS FILLING CITY COFFERS.Byline: Angela M. Lemire Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, - Automobile sales continued to fuel the local economy last year, as dealerships again ranked among the city's top sales tax sales tax, levy on the sale of goods or services, generally calculated as a percentage of the selling price, and sometimes called a purchase tax. It is usually collected in the form of an extra charge by the retailer, who remits the tax to the government. revenue generators. The city's latest independent audit of roughly $16 million in sales tax revenues collected from October October: see month. 1998 through September 1999 shows that 11 local automobile dealerships and credit leasing agencies dominated the list of Santa Clarita's top 25 sales tax generators, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. city accounting reports. Eight retail stores, two grocery stores, two building and construction suppliers and two specialty businesses rounded out the listing. State law permits cities to release top sales tax revenue generators, but for privacy purposes, cities may not rank them in order or release individual sales tax figures. Local sales taxes, which account for 29 percent of the city's general fund, showed an 8.62 percent increase over the previous reporting period, officials said. The city collected $14.75 million from October 1997 through September 1998, and $16.02 million during the October 1998-September 1999 period, according to Barbara Boswell, the city's accounting manager. Overall, this year's ``top 25'' had no surprises and followed sales trends of previous years and quarters, Boswell and city Economic Development Director Mike Havilland said. ``In the past, sales tax revenue has been driven by the major auto dealers and the large anchors, or larger retail stores,'' Havilland said. ``That's exactly what we have again this year.'' At City Hall, the Finance Department relies on sales tax figures for annual and long-term Long-term Three or more years. In the context of accounting, more than 1 year. long-term 1. Of or relating to a gain or loss in the value of a security that has been held over a specific length of time. Compare short-term. budgets, but officials also use it as one tool in economic development, Havilland said. ``Indirectly, we can use these figures. If, for example, we're trying to attract something like a Lexus dealership. We can prove we have a strong market here for auto sales Auto Sales The major producers of domestic automobiles report sales monthly. These numbers are seasonally adjusted by the U.S. Department of Commerce and are available to the public one to five business days after the end of each month. in general,'' he said. The annual sales tax ``benchmarks,'' which demonstrate the performance of various business categories, are more important to economic development planning, Havilland added. ``We're interested to see the vitality vi·tal·i·ty n. 1. The capacity to live, grow, or develop. 2. Physical or intellectual vigor; energy. of our top 25, but there's a whole list of businesses in this city that fall below the top 25 that are a strong part of our economy, too,'' Havilland said. The city separates businesses into the categories of general retail, food products, transportation, construction, business-to-business and miscellaneous, according to Boswell. General retail rose from roughly $1 million in the third fiscal quarter of 1998 to nearly $1.175 million in the third quarter of 1999, city reports show. Transportation, which includes auto sales and leasing services, generated steady quarterly sales tax revenues of $1.2 million between 1998's fiscal third quarter and the same reporting period in 1999. An exception was seen in the 1998 fourth fiscal quarter, which showed that auto sales dropped slightly over winter holidays, while retail sales tax revenues spiked spike 1 n. 1. a. A long, thick, sharp-pointed piece of wood or metal. b. A heavy nail. 2. A spikelike part or projection, as: a. to $1.4 million in the same reporting period. Not surprisingly, the largest percentage increase occurred in the category of building and construction materials, which rose 19.72 percent. The city currently is experiencing record growth in residential housing development. TOP REVENUE PRODUCERS Santa Clarita's top 25 sales tax generators from July 1998-June 1999, listed in alphabetical order. Best Buy - electronics Dayton Hudson Corp. - Target store Ford Credit Titling Trust - auto leasing Frontier Toyota Home Depot The Home Depot (NYSE: HD) is an American retailer of home improvement and construction products and services. Headquartered in Vinings, just outside Atlanta in unincorporated Cobb County, Georgia, Home Depot employs more than 355,000 people and operates 2,164 big-box J.C. Penney Co. Kmart Lucky Food Centers Magic Ford Magic Lincoln/Mercury Mervyn's of California California (kăl'ĭfôr`nyə), most populous state in the United States, located in the Far West; bordered by Oregon (N), Nevada and, across the Colorado River, Arizona (E), Mexico (S), and the Pacific Ocean (W). National Ready Mixed Concrete Parkway Oldsmobile/Cadillac Qiagen - light manufacturing Robinsons-May Department Store Ron Tonkin's Valencia Acura Scott Irvin Chevrolet/Geo Sears Roebuck & Co. Shield Health Care Center Terry York's Dodge/Isuzu Price Club (now Costco) Toyota Motor Credit - auto leasing Valencia Honda honda a quick release metal eyelet for the end of a lariat. When the restrained animal is no longer required it is not necessary to slacken off the loop and pull it over the head—a very great advantage when working with wild cattle or unbroken horses. Valencia Nissan Vons Grocery Company Note: State law allows the release of a city's top 25 sales tax generators, but not in order of sales. The stipulation An agreement between attorneys that concerns business before a court and is designed to simplify or shorten litigation and save costs. During the course of a civil lawsuit, criminal proceeding, or any other type of litigation, the opposing attorneys may come to an agreement is designed to protect proprietary information. SOURCE: City of Santa Clarita CAPTION(S): 3 photos, box Photo: (1 -- color) Best Buy in Valencia is one of the area's top revenue sources. (2 -- 3) Robinsons-May, above, and Target, at left, both in Valencia, are on the list of Santa Clarita's top 25 sales tax revenue-producing businesses. Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News Box: TOP REVENUE PRODUCERS (See text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion