Aspen retailers see 12 percent gain in August

Aspen retailers rang up $67.65 million in sales in August, outpacing the same month last year by 12 percent, according to a report issued Thursday by the city’s Finance Department.

August held up this year’s trend that has seen modest growth over 2015.

For the first eight months of this year, retailers reeled in nearly $490 million in sales, topping the same period last year by 5 percent.

The city collected $1.35 million in sales taxes in August, which was 6 percent better than August 2015, the report shows. For January through August, the city has drawn $10.25 million in sales taxes, a 5 percent improvement over the $9.74 million reaped during the first eight months of 2015.

The 1.5 percent lodging tax posted double-digit gains in August, with the city drawing $234,565 compared with $193,136 to August 2015. That’s an increase of 21 percent.

For the first eight months of the year, the city has drawn $1.868 million in lodging tax proceeds, which is 8 percent ahead of the $1.732 million drawn during the same period last year, the report shows.