New York State Sales Tax Revenues Looking Good

New York “State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said sales tax collections grew by 5 percent last year, raising that revenue in many parts of the state above 2008 levels.” Although the comments that the growth seems “sluggish and unevenly distributed throughout the state,” DiNapoli feels the “economy has improved over the past two years,” and that “higher sales tax collections are a good sign for the economy.” However, MyFoxNY.com reports DiNapoli “…says Tuesday’s figures reflect continued slow recover, which is even slower than in 2010.”

In 2009, county government sales tax revenues dropped by nearly 6 percent. This year, they have seen, in general, a “…4.1 percent increase in county collections in 2011 over the year before.” New York State’s “…sales tax rate if 4 percent, but counties and cities can set their own rates, usually 3 percent to 4 percent.”

One gain was attributed to construction due to summer flooding from tropical storms. But sales tax revenues are eaten up rather quickly as those communities strive to recover from “…damage to homes, schools and services that far exceeds the sales tax revenue.” According to the associated press report, “..the storms are blamed for more than $1 billion in damage to upstate New York, little of which was covered by individual or business insurance.”