Carson tax collections soar in Nov.

With powerful gains by both auto dealers and retail stores, Carson City's taxable sales soared 13.6 percent in November.

That is far better than the state as a whole, which saw tax numbers rise just 2.7 percent compared to the same month in 2009.

Motor vehicle sales increased 20.6 percent to

$12.3 million, according to figures released by the Nevada Department of Taxation.

"All the incentives we did with the car dealers are coming to fruition," said Carson City's finance director Nick Providenti.

He said general merchandise sales also were strong - up 15 percent to $13.27 million. Providenti credited the new Kohl's store that opened in October for much of that gain.

City Manager Larry Werner said the numbers give some hope that Carson City may be on the road to economic recovery.

He said even building material sales were up in Carson City, by 5 percent.

Total taxable sales for the capital were $58.58 million for the month, which bumps Carson's sales for the first five months of the fiscal year to $284.7 million and a 6 percent gain over the same period last year.

Statewide, the total sales reported was just a hair under $3.1 billion. Fifteen of the 17 counties were up for the month, seven of them joining Carson City with double-digit increases. Again, auto sales were a major driver, reporting a total of $289 million in sales.

General merchandise stores were up just 1.1 percent statewide.

Douglas was up by nine-tenths of a percent, reporting $43.37 million in sales. For the five months of the fiscal year, Douglas is still down 1.3 percent at $232.9 million in sales.

Lyon County, however, didn't fare as well. Sales there were down 10.6 percent to $20.56 million - the only county to report a double-digit decline for November. Lyon is down 8.8 percent for the year to $122.4 million.

Clark County drew the overall state numbers down significantly, growing taxable sales just nine-tenths of a percent to $2.27 billion. Washoe was a bit better at 2.5 percent and $408.6 million.

Storey County was up

10.7 percent primarily because of sales by businesses at the Reno-Tahoe Industrial Park. Total sales there were $3.5 million.

The largest gain reported by any county was in White Pine where total sales were up 56.5 percent to $21.7 million.

With the mining boom there, White Pine is up 79.6 percent for the fiscal year thus far.

Mining and mining support activities were up 117 percent and 330 percent respectively, totaling $2.86 million. Construction in part related to the mines jumped from

$2,918 in November 2009 to $1.32 million this November.