Sales Tax Revenues in NYC Down 10 Percent

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/139812 Sales Tax Revenues in NYC Down 10 Percent by WNYC News NEW YORK, NY August 31, 2009 —Sales tax revenues in New York City plummeted 10 percent in the first seven months of this year and the rest of the state is not far behind, with sales taxes down 8.9 percent from the year before. State Controller Thomas DiNapoli says local governments may need to start... [more]

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/139812 Sales Tax Revenues in NYC Down 10 Percent by WNYC News NEW YORK, NY August 31, 2009 —Sales tax revenues in New York City plummeted 10 percent in the first seven months of this year and the rest of the state is not far behind, with sales taxes down 8.9 percent from the year before. State Controller Thomas DiNapoli says local governments may need to start adjusting their spending habits now, in case the downward trend continues. DINAPOLI: Just like the state, if local governments are not on track to meet their budget revenues for the year, they need to make adjustments in their spending now, without placing a great burden on taxpayers. September is considered the most important sales tax collection period, outside of the holiday shopping season, because of back-to-school shopping. --------------------------------------------------------- If sales tax revenues are down 10%, then pretty much SALES are down 10%. If gross sales are down 10%, net profit for retailers is probably down significantly more than that. I see this having a pretty sizable effect on retail rents in NYC, incomes, especially disposable income, the need for other taxes to rise, and basically a whole bunch of other bad stuff. [less]