Manhattan’s sales tax numbers are down, and dramatically from a year ago. Finance Director Bernie Hayen indicates while the numbers appear to be down considerably from a year ago–about $82-thousand–over half of this amount can be attributed to the

· 2009 distribution including a month and a half for Wal Mart , while 2010 included just one month and

· 2009 distribution included several back months for one auto dealer which totaled nearly $23-thousand dollars.

About 704,124-thousand dollars were collected in the July numbers, which actually reflect May retail sales, with an adjusted rate of 664,361-thousand dollars.The adjusted rate compared to the forecast and budget is down nearly 109-thousand dollars.

Hayen adds interestingly, car dealerships were up about 10% this year compared to the same period a year ago. Mall retail sales were slightly up, and several big box stores had sales increases ranging from five to 20%. However, the larger big box discount retailers were down.