EBR tax take rises in 2011

Retail sales at highest point since ’08

For local retailers, it actually did look a lot more like Christmas in December, as shoppers upped their spending by nearly 5 percent over the previous year.

Retail spending in East Baton Rouge Parish increased to $773.9 million, up 4.7 percent from December 2010. That topped off the year, which finished with $7.6 billion, up 3.7 percent from the previous year and the highest since 2008.

The figures, which do not include vehicle sales, are based on the 2 percent local sales tax collected on spending by consumers and businesses.

Eugene Brown, owner of Brown & Brown Custom Clothiers, said his business is up just a little, but he’s encouraged by signs of recovery in the national economy.

“Also as I understand it, we live in the energy corridor, and energy is what is driving the economy,” Brown said.

Based on what his customers are telling him, people are feeling better about their situations and more stable financially, Brown said. So now they can do some of the same things they did when they had more expendable income.

However, Mark Miles, owner of Miles Photography Studio, said the economic recovery hasn’t trickled down to his business yet.

December 2010 was actually better than December 2011 because he was filling some big contracts, Miles said. The everyday retail sales from walk-in customers were probably around the same in 2011 as the year before, he said.

People still want the service, but they’re more budget-conscious, Miles said. Customers who might have spent $300 for a photo package before the recession are now limiting their spending to a third of that.

For the year, retail sales were higher in 11 of the 12 months. April, when sales were down 0.3 percent, was the only month when 2011 sales didn’t outstrip the 2010 figures.

Sales within the city totaled $4.1 billion in 2011 and outside the city totaled $3.5 billion. Those figures were up from the previous year’s $4.0 billion inside the city and $3.3 billion outside the city.

The 2011 sales tax collections show Baton Rouge’s economy is rebounding, Mayor-President Kip Holden said in a news release.

Retail sales were the highest since 2008’s $7.95 billion, and that year’s sales were driven in part by the rebuilding that took place after Hurricane Gustav, Holden said.

Overall, Baton Rouge has weathered the national recession much better than most other cities, which were forced to cut services and fire police officers and other workers, Holden said.

The state government is still grappling with those same issues in order to balance its budget.

Those types of service cuts and layoffs haven’t taken place in East Baton Rouge Parish, Holden said.

Meanwhile, East Baton Rouge Parish vehicle sales jumped 8.6 percent in 2011 to $567.9 million.

Vehicle sales, which can be affected by trends specific to the auto industry, are usually separated from retail spending numbers.

However, 2011’s total sales tax collections, including vehicle sales, rose to $162.5 million, a 4 percent increase over 2010 and the highest amount since 2008.

Bob Israel, executive director of the Louisiana Automobile Dealers Association, said the increase in East Baton Rouge’s auto sales were a fraction of statewide sales, which jumped 23 percent.

“The only possibility would be that Baton Rouge had a better year in ’10 than the rest of the state had,” Israel said, “so therefore the increase would be smaller.”