For another month, sales tax collections in the state of New York were much higher than they were last year. It’s no secret that inflation is the main cause of the issue, forcing Americans to be cutting bigger checks for everyday spending. However, to the delight of many New Yorkers, gas prices now have dropped to a $4.29 statewide average in comparison to the sky-high prices we were seeing earlier in the summer.
Increases Across the State
Comptroller Tom Dinapoli’s office reported that sales tax collections increased by 11.9% last month, compared to the same time in 2021. Although many consumers are not pulling back on spending, local collections reached a staggering $1.8 billion in July, an increase of $188 million from the previous year.
“Statewide local sales tax collections growth continued to be strong in July, despite the participation of many counties in the gas tax holiday,” DiNapoli said. “However, it is important that local officials continue to monitor economic factors that impact overall sales tax revenues.”
Of all the counties state-wide, New York City saw the largest percent in year-over-year increase at 19.5%, which was a $776 million increase from July 2021. Schuyler County also saw a large increase coming in at 19.6% over July 2021’s numbers. Most of the counties saw year-over-year increases, however, there are a few that did see a decrease in revenue. Monroe County saw the largest decline, with a drop of 4.6% from July of last year. Some good news coming from this is that consumer prices did not increase as quickly as they have in the previous summer months.
Wrap Up
As the summer has marched on, it has not gotten any easier on the wallets of many Americans. One saving grace, however, has been the suspension of the sales tax on gasoline in most counties across the state to provide at least some relief. We will continue to be on the lookout for any important inflation updates and keep you in the loop!