Sales Tax News - August 22, 2017

New York county sees sales tax collections increase while Del City, Oklahoma votes on a sales tax increase.

Livingston County, New York Sales Tax Growth Higher than Regional And State Tax

Livingston County is seeing great gains in their local sales tax collections.  The county has beat out last year’s numbers in each of the first two quarters of 2017.  Over the first six months of the year, the county saw an increase of 6.4% in sales tax collections.  Comparatively, the Finger Lakes region saw a growth of 4% and the state of New York saw growth of 3.3% during the same time period.  Officials find the growth to be encouraging, but point out that sales tax collection is determined by consumer spending, which is unpredictable.  Low unemployment rates and greater consumer confidence are believed to have contributed to the growth.  Officials hope that the increased tax revenue will give lawmakers more flexibility in creating their 2018 budgets. 

Del City, Oklahoma to Vote on Sales Tax Increase

Residents in Del City, Oklahoma will go to the polls on November 14 to vote on whether to increase their sales tax from 8.5 percent to 9 percent.  The increased collections would go to support the local fire and police.  The tax increase is expected to bring in an additional $1.35 million per year.  The city plans to use the funds to pay for police and fire fighter salaries, staffing, benefits, and competitive wages.  Officials for the city state that they are unable to offer competitive wages and are consequently losing many employees to surrounding cities.  The city has had to close one of its two fire stations due to its loss of manpower.  If the vote passes, the tax will go into effect April 1, 2018.

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