Taxes Tell the Story  February 2009 | by Bud Emerson, Klish

Our Community Plan clearly calls for a vital downtown business center which may be assessed subjectively however one chooses to look at it. For those who want an objective measure there are a few tax indicators that can help us track vitality.
Sales tax numbers tell us that retail business is in a distinctly downward trend from $96k in the 3rd quarter of 2007, to $83k in the 2nd quarter 2008, to $78k in the 3rd quarter of 2008. Similar downward trends show up in sales tax receipts for almost all other cities in San Diego County except for Oceanside, Encinitas, and Coronado.

Restaurant sales tax numbers in Del Mar indicate a slight upward trend from $321k in the 3rd quarter of 2007, to $323k in the 3rd quarter of 2008.

Hotel taxes (TOT), which were $614k in the 1st quarter of 2008, fell to $254k in the 4th quarter of 2008, but went up to $568k in the 1st quarter of 2009.

We will report more financial data as they become available from the Del Mar Finance Department.