ALBANY — Local sales tax collections increased 5.1% statewide in November, compared to the same month last year, totaling $1.81 billion. The Capital Region and Mohawk Valley had some of the highest gains.
An audit released by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s office on Tuesday found 55 out of 57 counties in New York experienced year-to-year increases. Of the $1.81 billion, New York City collections totaled $815 million, while $887 million was collected in the rest of the state.
“Local sales tax collections continued to grow in November,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “Consumers across the state increased their spending heading into the holiday season, with all regions seeing year-over-year increases for the month.”
The Capital Region’s collections increased 7% overall, collecting about $82.4 million this year, compared to nearly $74.1 million in 2022.
Schenectady County vastly outpaced other counties in the Capital Region regarding increases. Schenectady experienced a 31.7% increase in sales tax from the previous year, totaling nearly $12.3 million, up from $9.31 million in 2022.
Schenectady County Legislator Gary Hughes, chair of the Economic Development & Planning Committee, said the report is good news and pointed to a recent article in the Daily Gazette that Adirondack Beverages is again expanding its business as an example of the county’s good economic standing.
“We’ve got strong employment — pretty much every employer in the county is looking for more workers,” Hughes said. “We have a good, solid manufacturing base. You can start at General Electric and work your way through. There’s a lot of good sales tax generated in that area. And so, you put that all together and you have a winning combination to have some good sustained growth — and that’s what we’re seeing.”
Nationwide, the economy has continued to grow and remain resilient despite economists’ original predictions of an economic slowdown in the future. Hughes said he finds the situation very interesting.
“And you begin to wonder, maybe the projections are wrong,” he said. “The reality is, this is strong economic news that we continue to see.”
Saratoga County experienced the second-highest gains in the region. It collected $14.1 million in sales taxes, up from nearly $12.4 million last year, a 14% increase.
Sales tax collections also increased overall in the Mohawk Valley. Region-wide, collections rose 10.2%, from $26.1 million to nearly $28.8 million this year. Herkimer County’s collections increased 17.6% from the previous year, the highest in the region.
Montgomery County trailed Herkimer with a 14.4% increase from the previous year, up to $3.5 million from nearly $3.1 million. While Fulton County collected about $2.3 million in sales tax, an 11.5% increase, the cities of Gloversville and Johnstown saw smaller gains. Gloversvile collected $360,000 in sales tax last month, up 8.4% from $330,000 the previous year. Johnstown saw a modest 3.5% increase from the previous year, up to to $390,000 from $370,000 last year.