Local government sales tax collections in New York State totaled $5.5 billion in the first calendar quarter of 2023, up 7.1 percent (or $369 million) compared to the same period last year. Despite strong first quarter collections, sales tax growth continues to moderate, returning to more typical collections patterns seen prior to the pandemic. New York City experienced sales tax growth of 11.3 percent in the first quarter, while most counties and preempting cities throughout the rest of the State saw some growth as well.

Local sales tax collections in New York State totaled $22.1 billion in 2022, up 12.7% ($2.5 billion) from 2021, mainly driven by inflation and strong sales statewide, especially in New York City. Overall sales tax growth, even though moderating somewhat recently, has remained high since the initial “bounce back” in the spring of 2021.

This report provides a summary analysis of the financial state of the local governments outside of New York City for local fiscal years ending in 2021. Year two of the COVID-19 pandemic continued to present local officials with financial and operational challenges. In this report, we summarize these by class of local government. | NYS Local Government Interactive Data

Local government sales tax collections totaled nearly $5.7 billion and grew by 10.2%, or $529 million, in the third quarter of 2022 compared to the same period last year, mostly driven by double digit growth in New York City. However, local governments are contending with higher costs from inflation, which was 8.3% nationally. Adjusting for inflation, year-over-year growth in the value of sales tax revenue for the third quarter was 1.8%. | Regional Table [.xlsx]

Local government sales tax collections in New York State totaled over $5.5 billion in the second quarter of 2022, an increase of 12.2 percent, or nearly $604 million, compared to the same quarter last year. April and May collections grew by 15.7 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively, while June increased 6.5 percent, marking the first time since March 2021 the monthly year-over-year growth dipped below double-digits.

Local government sales tax collections totaled nearly $5.2 billion in the first quarter of 2022, an increase of 21.1 percent, or $901 million, compared to the same quarter the previous year. This growth was at least partially driven by inflation, which hit a 40-year-high in March, most notably for gasoline, new and used cars, and household energy costs. Almost every county outside of New York City experienced double-digit growth in the first quarter.

New York State local government sales tax collections totaled $19.6 billion in 2021, an increase of 19.1 percent, or $3.1 billion, compared to the previous year. This was the highest annual jump on record after a historic low in 2020 when local sales tax collections declined by 10 percent. The report examines the many factors that drove sales tax growth in 2021, including inflation, along with the difference in sales tax recovery between New York City and the rest of the State.

This Annual Report on Local Governments provides a summary analysis of the financial state of the local governments outside of New York City for local fiscal years ending in 2020. It highlights the unique challenges that local officials faced from the COVID-19 pandemic. | NYS Local Government Interactive Data

Statewide local sales tax collections grew by 17.5% in November compared to the same month in 2020. Overall, local collections totaled almost $1.6 billion, up $235 million from November of last year. Collections for the month were also notably robust when compared to pre-pandemic levels, up 9.2% (or $133 million) from November of 2019. New York City’s collections totaled $696 million, an increase of 12.6% – or nearly $78 million – when compared to November of 2020. Nearly every county experienced significant year-over-year growth in collections for November.

Statewide local government sales tax collections in October totaled more than $1.5 billion, an increase of 12.9 percent (or $175 million) compared to the same month in 2020. This growth continued the trend of monthly collections since April exceeding 2020 results. Strong local sales tax performance in October reflects weakened collections during the same month in 2020, when many parts of the state were still adversely impacted by the pandemic.