New York sees sales tax collections skyrocket compared to same month last year
(The Center Square) – Local governments across New York state reported a strong April as sales tax collections reached $1.5 billion for the month. That’s an increase of $464 million from April 2020, the first full month of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a release Friday from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The 46 percent spike is an indication of how anemic last year’s tally was as many businesses across the state were closed during the first weeks of the emergency. However, DiNapoli noted that this year’s numbers compared very favorably to April 2019 totals.
The 2021 numbers were up $137 million, or 10.2 percent, from the same period in 2019.
“The strong collections in April show that the economy is gaining steam, thanks in part to federal aid, more lifts in restrictions and a climb in the vaccination rates,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “However, local governments must monitor changing economic conditions and continue to be vigilant when it comes to their finances.”
All but one community saw gains in sales tax revenue for the month. Those gains ranged from 28.2 percent in Schuyler County to a 130.9 percent increase in Schenectady County.
The only county that saw a decline was Oswego, where the $2.4 million collected represented a decline of 13.7 percent.
New York City reported $657.3 million in sales tax receipts, up nearly 40 percent from the $470.8 million collected last year.
Long Island reported a 52.5 percent spike as Nassau and Suffolk counties reported $153.4 million in receipts for the month. That’s compared to $100.6 million last April.
Statewide, sales tax revenue is up 5.3 percent for the first four months of the calendar year. New York communities have collected $5.7 billion, compared to just less than $5.5 billion for the same period last year.
In New York City, collections are down slightly for the period. At just less than $2.4 billion, it’s off by about $77 million, or 3.1 percent, from January to April 2020.
The Big Apple joins Oswego (-2.6 percent) and Schuyler (-0.6 percent) as the only New York communities reporting fewer sales tax collections through the start of the year.
Meanwhile, Sullivan County has reported the best four-month gain of any community or county. For this year, the county in the Mid-Hudson Region has reported $17.6 million in tax revenue, a 34.4 percent gain from last year.
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