Chemung County Executive Tom Santulli and Southern Tier Economic Growth President Mike Krusen are pleased to announce sales tax increased by nearly 3.5 percent in 2017. The 3.445 percent increase represents a growth of $1.9 million in sales tax throughout the County.
“Sales tax is one of the best indicators in determining the health of the local economy. Following two years of sales tax decline, it is encouraging to see that our County sales tax revenues for 2017 were up nearly 3.5%. This was a welcomed surprise, as we didn’t predict sales tax to increase in our most recent budget. It also correlates nicely with the fact the County hasn’t had to increase property taxes in the last 14 years,” says Santulli.
Chemung County generated nearly $57.2 million in gross sales tax receipts. This is the highest sales tax collection the County has received since 2014. Of the $57.2 million, $41.4 million goes to Chemung County while the City, Towns and Villages share the remainder.
“The nearly $2 million dollar increase in sales tax collections for 2017 is great news and a positive sign that our business and retail sectors are showing solid signs of growth. With the number of economic development projects that are coming on line and pending over the next several months we should continue to see strong business growth and a pickup in employment gains,” says Krusen.
Chemung County Legislator Rodney J. Strange said this is great news for not only the county, but for the municipalities throughout the county who have seen their portion of sales tax cut in recent years. “This is welcome news for all of us,” Strange said. “I know the Towns of Ashland, Southport, Elmira and the Village of Wellsburg in the 15th district can use the extra money for their budgets and hopefully this trend will continue into 2018.”
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