Sales tax collections in NY state grew 1.7 percent in the first half of 2016, although more than a third of the state’s counties experienced year-over-year declines.
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DiNapoli said sales tax revenues grew by 2.6 percent in the first quarter, but tumbled to 0.8 percent over the next three months. Sales tax revenue increased in 34 of 57 counties outside New York City. Dutchess County followed with a 2.1 percent increase over the first six months of previous year, followed by Greene County at 1.8 percent.
New York City’s sales tax growth of 2.4 percent overcame losses in several upstate counties.
Sullivan County sales tax collections in the first half of the year grew by 3.7 percent, while Ulster’s rose by 2.7 percent. In western NY, growth stood at only 0.7 percent and in the North Country only 0.1 percent.
In Cayuga County, the declines in sales tax revenue are one of the reasons county legislators have been exploring alternative measures to balance the budget, including a recent discussion on a possible motor vehicle tax.
Local sales tax collections – an indicator of Main Street’s economic health – for the first half of the year was considered weak statewide, although Long Island showed gains according to a state comptroller’s office report released Thursday.
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“State sales tax collections continue to be down, largely due to depressed spending in the oil and natural gas-related sectors”, Hegar said. Cayuga County’s gas tax collections have dropped more than 45 percent.
