By Rupert Howell
State Department of Revenue figures reflecting sales for the months when Polar Express train excursion came to town last November and December indicate food, beverage and lodging establishments did exceptionally well while areas of retail realized significant increases also.
The excursions began in late November 2015 during the week of Thanksgiving and may well be the reason the City of Batesville’s tax collections increased three percent to $352,702 while statewide sales taxes decreased by one percent during that month.
And the three percent tax on food and lodging, it brought in $103,755 in tax revenue during November, an amount 13 percent greater than November 2014.
The train ran every week during December with several North Pole excursions toward the ending week days and full blown four and five round trips on weekends. Those excursions began running all week as Christmas week approached.
That sprint toward the holiday may have helped increase sales tax diverted to Batesville during December by 11 percent over December 2014 to $448,886. That is not sales tax collected—that is approximately 18 percent of the total collected. The other goes to the state’s general fund.
The clincher is the 22 percent increase in the Tourism and Economic Development Tax, that three percent on food and lodging. It totaled $110,563 bringing the total of sales tax related income to Batesville for the month of December to approximately $560,000.