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Tulsa City Hall Tulsa City Hall (One Technology Center) at Second and Cincinnati in downtown Tulsa. (Staff)

The City of Tulsa’s March sales tax check, which covers the period from mid-January 2015 to mid-February 2015, as reported by the Oklahoma Tax Commission, totaled $18,773,072.

That’s up 5.9 percent from the same period in 2014 and 5.7 percent above budget estimates.

The City of Tulsa sales tax rate currently is 3.1 percent, compared with 3.167 percent one year ago. The new lower tax rate began July 1, 2014, at the beginning of this fiscal year.

“We are pleased with the sales tax collections we are receiving, but use taxes continue to drop from the previous year,” Mayor Dewey Bartlett said. “We urge Tulsans to declare their online purchases from retailers outside of Oklahoma on their 2014 income tax returns as vital city services are funded through sales and use taxes.”

Use taxes for March totaled $1,878,910, which is down 3.6 percent from the same period a year ago, and 2.6 percent below budget estimates. Use taxes received so far this fiscal year total $18,269,770 which is 1.2 percent below one year ago and 0.04 percent above budget estimates.

Sales tax and use tax collections provide 55 percent of the City of Tulsa’s revenue. Vital services such as police and fire protection, 911 emergency dispatch, snow and ice removal from streets, pothole repair and mowing of grass in medians and parks are supported by sales and use taxes.