By Rupert Howell

August retail sales increased in the City of Batesville five percent for 2010 compared to 2009 with the City receiving $307,009 as its share, approximately 18 percent, of the seven cent sales tax.

Batesville’s Tourism and Economic Development Tax increased 12 percent for the month of September according to State Tax Commission figures totaling $82,436. That three percent tax is paid on purchases in restaurants and hotel/motel bills and is used to pay off indebtedness of Batesville Civic Center and other capital improvements.

The Mississippi State Tax Commission reimbursed a total of $31,390,552 to municipalities across the state for August collections, an increase of two percent over August of last year.

Other Panola municipalities receive disbursements of and percentage of increase and decrease for August compared to August 2009 as follows: Como, $12,466, -16; Courtland, no change, Crenshaw, $5,450, +54; Crowder, $1,411, -14; Pope, $3,016, +29 and Sardis, $27,587, +2.

Nearby municipalities received the following disbursements followed by the percentage of increase and decrease compared to August 2009: Charleston, $30,021, +12; Clarksdale, $220,352, +5; Grenada, $338,138, +11; Lambert, $2,683, -8; Marks, $20,872, +3; Oakland, $5,583, +7; Oxford, $469,294, +7; Senatobia, $147,108, +1; Sledge, $1,522, +9 and Water Valley, $41,763, -3.