The office of Hammond Mayor Mayson Foster announced Oct. 9 that sales tax revenue collections for September are up more than four percent since September of last year. According to economics professor Dr. Yu Hsing, an increase like this reflects that our local economy is doing well.
“I believe that this increase is due to the many new businesses that have appeared in Hammond like Academy, which opened I think only four months ago,” said Foster. “Also, the Shop at Home Projects made by the Hammond Chamber of Commerce, which encourage our citizens to stay and shop in Tangipahoa and Hammond.”
While Hsing agrees that business development is a major factor, he thinks there are many other variables to consider.
“I think students contribute a lot,” said Hsing. “Students buy lunch, gas and a lot of other things, which of course leads to a rise in sales tax revenue. Also, the population of students remains stable, around 15,000, which is another major factor.”
According to Hsing, population, the number of jobs and the income of workers are the variables that help indicate an economically healthy community.
“When all of these things line up, it shows that the community is healthy,” said Hsing. “Hammond appears to have healthy numbers for all of these.”
Hsing explained that the greater Hammond area and Tangipahoa parish have approximately 47,000 working people as of August 2011. Excluding the more metropolitan parishes, like Baton Rouge, Tangipahoa has the largest number of working citizens in the state.
“Obviously, more people working means more earning and spending money,” said Hsing. “When combined with contributions made by students, this is a huge force that leads to more sales and collections of sales tax.”
Hsing also attributed the rise in collections to, oddly enough, Tangipahoa unemployment rate, which is around nine percent.
“We benefit in a way from the lower unemployment rates of neighboring parishes,” said Hsing. “Many people that live in Tangipahoa work in other parishes where work is easier to find, like St. Tammany which has an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent or Livingston with seven percent, and then come back home to spend their earnings.”
This increase in revenue collection ultimately leads to an increase in local government funds, which can be used to maintain roads, fund police protection and other public services and projects. Foster says that this money will help alleviate some of the more recent budget trouble the state and the community have been facing.
“We are able to use this increase to offset the costs of doing business,” said Foster. “Like many parts of the state we have to deal with increased costs of retirement benefits and health care. The revenue will help us cover these costs.”