Tax revenue increase driven by construction, vehicles

Construction projects and more motor vehicle purchases contributed to an about 9 percent increase in taxable retail sales in Skagit County for the first fiscal quarter of 2018, according to a Department of Revenue news release.

From January to March, sales were 8.8 percent greater than the first quarter of 2017, according to department data.

Construction sales rose $32 million, from $80 million to $112 million.

James McCafferty, co-director of the Center for Economic and Business Research at Western Washington University, said a few big construction projects are enough to cause a large increase in taxable retail sales in low-density counties such as Skagit.

“If you start with a smaller base, it doesn’t take as much of a dollar amount to make a percent change,” McCafferty said.