Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar has announced state sales tax income totaled $2.98 billion for October.

The bulk of November sales tax income is based on sales started in October and paid to the agency during the next month.

“November state sales tax collections continued the trends of recent months, with receipts down from a year ago in all major economic sectors other than retail trade,” Hegar said in a press release. “Increased collections from retail trade reflected continued heightened spending for home improvements in response to the pandemic. The steepest declines were again in oil- and gas-related sectors because well drilling and well completion remain depressed."

Hegar's release noted that receipts from the information sector were also notably down due to the federal ban on sales taxation of internet access services. 

"With sales tax, collection responsibility for online marketplaces and remote sellers now in place for more than a year, increased collections from online vendors reflected the pandemic-accelerated market share shift from in-store to online shopping," the release said. "Receipts from restaurants remained down from last year, but significantly higher than in the early days of the pandemic, as restrictions have eased on in-person dining and consumers continue to embrace pick-up and delivery restaurant service.”