Aspen retailers post 2 percent increase in June
Aspen businesses posted a 2 percent gain in retail sales in June compared with the same month in 2016, according to a report issued Monday by the city’s Finance Department.
June brought in $60.9 million in revenue, which accounted for nearly $1.3 million in sales tax collections for the city, data show.
For the first six months of the year, Aspen retailers generated $355.8 million in sales, up 3 percent over the first half of 2016. The city collected $7.4 million in sales taxes during that same period, according to the report.
Here’s a breakdown of how Aspen’s 12 retail sectors performed in June, which traditionally accounts for 8.4 percent of the year’s sales:
• Accommodations (lodging) — $17.3 million, up 6 percent over June 2016
• Restaurants and bars — $10.8 million, up 4 percent
• Sports equipment/clothing — $1.9 million, down 18 percent
• Clothing — $4.5 million, down 6 percent
• Liquor and marijuana — $1.8 million, up 10 percent
• Food and drug — $4.5 million, up 3 percent
• General retail — $2.6 million, down 2 percent
• Construction — $7.9 million, up 4 percent
• Luxury goods — $2.4 million, up 29 percent
• Utilities — $2.9 million, down 13 percent
• Automobile — $1.6 million, down 24 percent
• Miscellaneous —$2.7 million, up 9 percent
Meanwhile, the city’s 2 percent lodging tax collections — of which 75 percent is earmarked for tourism promotion and 25 percent for transportation — are up 8 percent for the first half of 2017, the report said.
The promotional side of the tax has brought in nearly $1.5 million for the year, while the transportation part has generated nearly $500,000, according to the report.
All told, between the lodging and sales tax collections, city coffers have reaped just over $9.4 million for the year’s fist six months, the report showed.
Aspen City Council considers additional increases to food tax refund
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