New York local sales tax collections increased 5.2% in 2013, though the growth rate slowed in the fourth quarter, according to staff working for New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
The local sales tax collections increase was better than the 15-year annual average growth rate of 4.5%. It was also better than 2012's 3.3% growth rate and 2011's 5% growth rate.
While growth in downstate counties was 5.9 percent, collections rose only 1.7% in upstate counties.
Regionally, Long Island saw the biggest jump in collections, at 6.9%. New York City had a 6.8% increase and the mid-Hudson had a 4.2% percent increase.
New York City's sales tax collections have increased by 37% to 2013 from 2009.
Upstate, the regions with the largest sales tax growth were Western New York with 2.6%, the Mohawk Valley with 2.4%, and Central New York with 2.3%.
The increase in fourth quarter was the slowest since the first quarter of 2010, one of several red flags in the report, DiNapoli's staff said. In addition, 14 of the state's 57 counties experienced declines in sales tax collections in 2013. Schoharie and Tioga counties both had 5% decreases, the largest of New York's counties.
Earlier this month, DiNapoli released a report finding that 15 of New York's 535 villages with fiscal years ending on May 31 were in fiscal stress.
DiNapoli's staff assigned fiscal stress scores to New York villages with higher scores indicating higher fiscal stress levels. The villages with the highest level of fiscal stress were: Suffern (87%), Amityville (71%), Manorhaven (66%), Bayville (65%), Solvay (64%), Old Brookville (60%), West Hampton Dunes (59%), and Kiryas Joel (57%). The staff said that all villages with 65% or higher ratings were experiencing significant stress. It said that those villages with 55% or higher ratings were in moderate stress.
In 2013 the staff also found 16 counties, 18 towns, five cities and 87 school districts to be in fiscal stress. DiNapoli’s staff found that one village whose fiscal year ends on Dec. 31, Islandia, had a 67% stress score.
The staff found that the median property value in upstate villages was about $40,000 whereas it was nearly $170,000 in downstate villages
