LAFAYETTE, La, - With more than $525 million in sales in July, year-to-date taxable sales have reached $3.62 billion. Year-to-date sales are up 4.7% from 2018 and up 7.8% from 2017.
Total taxable sales are up 3.5% in the City of Lafayette and 17.0% in unincorporated areas of the parish. Sales are also up in neighboring municipalities- Broussard (3.2%), Carencro (11.9%), Scott (6.9%), and Youngsville (1.8%). Sales in Duson are down 9.5%
"Taxable sales in July are the second highest July sales on record- just $10 million behind 2014," says Gregg Gothreaux, President and CEO of the Lafayette Economic Development Authority. "In 2019, the past five months had taxable sales over $500 million which is an encouraging sign of sustained consumer confidence."
Within the City of Lafayette, year-to-date total sales are up in the food, general merchandise, auto, furniture, services, and miscellaneous/other categories- ranging from 12.4% to 0.5%. Apparel and building materials are down slightly- 1.9% and 0.8%, respectively.
Hotel/Motel receipts in July are up 24.8% compared to July 2018. Year-to-date receipts are up 7.3% compared to 2018 numbers.
LEDA's forecasting model calculates total taxable sales in 2019 will reach $6.2 billion.
Sales tax collection numbers are gathered by the Lafayette Parish School System.
