Collections of transaction privilege tax (sales tax) in Maricopa in December showed the growth in business since a year ago, according to the Arizona Department of Revenue.

Overall, collections were 29% higher in December 2019 than they were in December 2018. For January, collections soared close to $2 million as construction and retail took off again.

Construction brought in the most sales tax during December, a total of $444,361, which is up 14.7% from a year ago. In January, the collection from construction was up another 24% over December.

A year-to-year change that started in November’s numbers was the addition of the state’s collection of transaction privilege tax from remote sales such as Amazon. From November through January, that has brought in an additional $172,764 in sales tax from Maricopa shoppers.

Retail sales were up 11.6% year-to-year in December and gained another 45% in January. Sales tax collections from bars and restaurants were up 24.45%.

Tax collections from grocery sales were up 17% from December to December and then another 47% from December through January.

This item appears in part in the March issue of InMaricopa.com.