NY sales-tax collection in lockdownslide

Sales-tax revenues collected by New York City and other local governments plunged 24 percent last month compared with April 2019 amid the state lockdown, according to figures released Tuesday by state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.

Revenues sunk by $327 million for local governments statewide, the analysis found.

The city experienced a 23 percent decline, amounting to $141.8 million in lost revenues for a single month.

The total sales tax levied on goods in the city is 8.875 percent: 4.5 percent collected by city government, 4 percent by state government and 0.375 percent by the MTA.

Every county in every region of the state saw a large drop in April collections — averaging a combined drop of 24.4 percent. Sales-tax revenue sunk 21.5 percent in the Mid-Hudson region and 28.8 percent in the Albany Capital District.

Aside from the Big Apple, 17 other cities and counties impose their own general sales tax.

Still unknown is how collections are impacted by consumers’ growing reliance on e-commerce shopping for products that are now subject to state and local sales taxes. That data was not yet available.

The report is a bad omen for state government. The new fiscal year began April 1.

The comptroller’s analysis comes as Cuomo and other New York pols lobby the federal government for a COVID-19 bailout. Cuomo said New York state needs $61 billion in federal aid to avoid substantial cuts and layoffs.