Southern Tier down in sales tax revenue in first quarter of 2024

ELMIRA, N.Y. ( WETM ) — The Southern Tier and Finger Lakes Regions are among the worst in the state for sales tax revenue for the first quarter of 2024, according to new data from the state comptroller’s office.

Of the nine regions across the state not including New York City, the Southern Tier is down 2.7% for the first quarter of 2024, January, February, and March, compared to the first quarter of 2023. Chemung County saw a drop of 3.5% in sales tax revenue at $18.15 million compared to $18.81 million in 2023.

The drop in sales tax in Chemung County correlates to around $1.1 million in budget variance. County officials say that the 2nd quarter is being monitored closely, if revenue continues to decline by a substantial amount then proper budgetary recommendations will be sent to the county legislature.

Steuben County was down 5.7% in quarter one in sales tax revenue, posting $16.76 million in 2024 compared to $17.77 million in 2023.

Schuyler County saw a 5.8% drop in sales tax revenue in 2024 with $3 million compared to $3.19 million in 2023.

In Tioga County, NY, a 6.1% drop in sales tax revenue was noted in 2024, bringing in $7.62 million compared to the $8.11 million in 2023.

For Tompkins County, a 2.2% drop was seen with $15.26 million collected in 2024 compared to the $15.61 million in 2023. The City of Ithaca specifically saw a drop of 1.7% with $3.26 million collected in 2024 compared to $3.31 million in 2023.

The Finger Lakes Region saw a 3.2% drop in revenue for quarter one in 2024 with $238 million collected compared to $245 million in 2023. Of the nine counties in the region, Yates County saw the largest drop in revenue of 7.1% with $4.02 million in 2024 compared to $4.33 in 2023.

Despite the drop in sales tax revenue for six of the nine regions outside of New York City, New York State was 1.6% ahead in revenue for quarter one, when including New York City, with $5.621 billion in 2024 compared to $5.533 billion in 2023.

To check the other regions of New York State you can visit a detailed report by the comptroller’s office .

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