Local government sales taxes in July totaled close to $1.6 billion, up $276 million or 21.2 percent over the same month in 2020, marking the fourth consecutive month that collections have surged. July’s significant growth in local sales taxes reflects the fact that collections in the same month of 2020 were quite weak, with sales activity that was still recovering from the first wave of the pandemic. However, collections were also strong even by comparison with pre-pandemic 2019, growing 11.2 percent, or $159 million, over July of that year. New York City’s collections totaled $649 million, an increase of 14.2 percent or $81 million compared to July 2020, and all other counties saw year-over-year collections for July grow by double digits. | Regional Table [.xlsx]