TENNESSEE DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE PROVIDES ANALYSIS OF
AUGUST 2007 COLLECTIONS

NASHVILLE, Tenn – August 2007 collections of the Tennessee Department of Revenue were $809,245,593, an increase of $40,680,645 or 5.3 percent over August 2006 collections.

Sales and use tax collections totaled $571,852,142, an increase of $13,432,934 or 2.4 percent over the August 2006 collections.

Collections from the retail trade group increased 1.6 percent.  Items with significant changes include:

• General merchandise: up 4.4 percent
• Miscellaneous retail stores: up 3.9 percent
• Eating and drinking places: up 3.2 percent
• Motor vehicle dealers and service stations: down 0.9 percent with the sub-item of new, used dealers showing a 5.7 percent decline

Collections from the service group increased 1.3 percent led by gains in hotel and lodging places (up 3.8 percent).

Collections from the non-retail, non-services group increased 2.4 percent led by gains in:

• Construction: up 23.2 percent
• Wholesale: up 3.0 percent

Consumer use collections were $410,008, a decline of $39,506 (8.8 percent) from August 2007.

Consumer use collections were $229,998, a decline of $359,372 (61.0 percent) from July 2006.

Franchise and excise tax collections were $44,565,096, an increase of $16,441,995 or 58.5 percent when compared to August 2006.  Separately, franchise tax collections were $16,457,803, a $7,318,574 or 80.1 percent gain from last August.  The excise tax collection was $28,107,293, an improvement of $9,123,421 or 48.1 percent over August 2006.

Tobacco tax collections were $17,786,538, an increase of $6,863,660 or 62.8 percent over the collection of August 2006.

TVA in-lieu-of tax payments amounted to $21,114,561, an increase of $2,770,308 or 15.1 percent.

Inheritance and estate tax collections were $9,294,256, an increase of $2,469,758 or 36.2 percent over August last year.

Gasoline tax collections were $52,073,338, an increase of $2,345,310 or 4.7 percent over August last year.

Privilege tax collections were $25,770,122, gaining $1,355,469 or 5.6 percent over the prior August’s collection.

Motor vehicle fuel collections were $12,755,497, a decrease of $3,454,738 or 21.3 percent compared to August of last year.

Business tax collections were $1,542,851, a decrease of $1,537,962 or 49.9 percent from August last year.

The Department of Revenue is responsible for the administration of state tax laws and motor vehicle title and registration laws established by the legislature and the collection of taxes and fees associated with those laws. The Department of Revenue collects approximately 92 percent of total state tax revenue. During the 2006-2007 fiscal year, the department collected $11.0 billion in state taxes and fees. In addition to collecting state taxes, $1.9 billion of local sales tax was collected by the department for local governments during the 2006-2007 fiscal year. Besides collecting taxes, the department enforces the revenue laws fairly and impartially in an effort to encourage voluntary taxpayer compliance. The department also apportions revenue collections for distribution to the various state funds and local units of government. To learn more about the department, log on to www.Tennessee.gov/revenue.

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