Car Week auctions in Monterey mean big sales, but little sales tax.

With more than 700 rare and refined cars for sale, the 2016 Mecum Daytime Auction in Monterey raked in more than $50 million in three days. A matte black 949-horsepower 2014 Ferrari LaFerrari with only 211 miles topped the list, selling for $4.7 million.

All told, roughly $180 million in transactions were done at three auctions in Monterey during Car Week.

Yet the sales aren’t the boon to city coffers one would imagine. Total sales at 2015 Car Week auctions came in just over $226 million in Monterey alone, yet the city collected only $65,000 in sales tax from auctions for the year. City officials expect similar revenues for 2016.

“We don’t see a huge economic change from car auctions,” says Jimmy Forbis, finance director for Monterey, and adds that it’s hard to quantify the economic impact more generally: “Summer is a busy time. In terms of [hotel tax], it’s difficult to distinguish what comes from Car Week.”

The Monterey County Convention and Visitors Bureau found in a 2014 survey that 85,000 people come to Car Week and spend $53.5 million, generating $4.8 million in tax revenues.

For the city of Monterey to collect a 1-percent sales tax on high-priced car auctions, three criteria must be met: The vehicle must be owned by the auction company, it must be sold to an end user (not a broker or dealer) and the buyer must be a California resident.

An analysis of tax revenue and receipts shows this happens in less than 3 percent of sales. In the other cases, tax revenue could end up with the state of California, other states or other countries.