By Hank Russell
Sales tax collections on Long Island this November were up 3.4% at $275.7 million, compared to $266.6 million last November. Last month’s number was also greater than in October, when $269.6 million was collected — a 2.2% increase. Percentage-wise, Long Island outperformed the state, which saw a yearly increase of 3.0% and only a 1.4% improvement month over month.
Nassau and Suffolk showed modest to strong gains last month, compared to the previous year and the previous month. Nassau brought in $126.0 million in sales tax revenue, which is 4.7% higher than the $120.3 million brought in the previous year and only 1.4% in October, when $121.1 million came into the county’s coffers.
In Suffolk County, November’s figures were up by 2.3% year over year to $149.4 million from $146.1 million. It was also 3% higher than in October, when collections were at $145.1 million.
So far this year, however, the increases have been small. Long Island collected $3.185 billion in sales tax revenues within the first eleven months of 2024. That is only up 0.4% from January-November 2023, when the region collected $3.173 billion.
Nassau County’s totals so far this year were at $1.424 billion, which is a slight improvement of 0.5% from the same eleven months last year, when $1.416 billion was brought in. Suffolk saw $1.757 billion collected so far this year — a slight bump of 0.2%. During the months of January through November in 2023, the county’s revenues were at $1.754 billion.
Nassau and Suffolk were two of the 35 counties in the state to see year-over-year growth, according to the comptroller’s office. However, state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli tamped down the enthusiasm.
“Local sales tax growth in November was a bit stronger compared to the 1.9% year-to-date increase,” DiNapoli said in a statement. “New York City’s collections continue to drive statewide growth, accounting for a majority of the overall increase. Still, monthly collections are subject to volatility, and local officials should take this into consideration when budgeting for future sales tax revenue.”