Whoops, what happened to sales tax in South Mississippi?

Sales tax collections slid at the start of the holiday shopping season in South Mississippi.

Only three of the 12 cities saw an increase in sales tax revenue on the December report, which indicates November sales.

Collectively the cities will receive $188,000 less than at this time last year.

D'Iberville was the only city with a strong showing, posting an increase of $93,000 a month ahead of the opening of Scarlet Pearl Casino. Gautier and Waveland also saw increases.

Gulfport had the largest decline at $130,000, followed by Biloxi which was down $88,000 and Pascagoula, down by $32,000.

Sales tax revenue is one of the largest sources of income for the cities along with property tax and casino revenue tax in cities that have casinos. The casino tax receipts will be reported this week.

This story was originally published January 19, 2016 at 2:16 PM with the headline "Whoops, what happened to sales tax in South Mississippi? ."