Sales tax collections, a key indicator of retail activity, continue to trend upward in the Grand Valley.

The City of Grand Junction reported a 12.6 percent increase in sales tax collections in March compared to the same month last year. Mesa County reported a 15.9 percent gain on a year-over-year basis.

Grand Junction lodging tax collections, a measure of hotel and motel stays, rose  58.7 percent.

March tax reports reflect February sales.

The city collected a total of nearly $5 million in sales and use taxes in March. That included almost $729,000 in sale taxes the county shares with the city.

Use taxes, a smaller and more volatile revenue source for the city, rose 28.5 percent.

For the first quarter of 2022, the city collected a total of almost $17.8 million in sales and use taxes. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, sales tax collections rose 17.3 percent and use tax collection jumped 60.8 percent.

Mesa County collected a total of more than $3.7 million in sales and use taxes in March.

Use taxes — most of them assessed on automobiles purchased outside the county, but used in the county — rose 42.3 percent.

County tax collections on retail sales increased 7.8 percent in March compared to the same month last year with gains in six of seven categories. Tax collections on internet sales rose 11.3 percent to almost $220,000.

Sales tax collections rose 10 percent on automobiles, 12.5 percent on home improvements and 19.7 percent on restaurant meals and hotel stays. Collections increased 25.2 percent in the construction category, 36.3 percent in the wholesale category and 37.4 percent in the oil and natural gas category.

For the first quarter of 2022, the county collected a total of nearly $12 million in sales and use taxes. Compared to the first quarter of 2021, sales tax collections advanced 16.8 percent and use tax collections increased 21.9 percent.

Tax collections on retail sales increased 10.1 percent to top $4 million in the first quarter of 2022. Tax collections on internet sales accounted for more than
$1.6 million. Sales tax collections increased 10.5 percent on automobiles, 18.3 percent on home improvements and 20.5 percent on restaurant meals and hotel stays.

The city collected nearly $227,000 in lodging taxes in March, a 58.7 percent gain over the same month last year.

For the first quarter of 2022, the city collected almost $681,000 in lodging taxes. That was a 65.5 percent increase over the first quarter of 2021.