Orleans sees big jump in sales tax revenue

Photo by Tom Rivers – Downtown Albion is decorated for the holidays in this file photo.

ALBION – Orleans County saw its sales tax revenue jump 6 percent in 2014, an $883,457 increase, according to the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

State-wide, sales tax was up 3.00 percent, from $26.74 billion in 2013 to $27.54 billion in 2014. Orleans had the biggest gain among the four rural GLOW counties.
Genesee County had a slight decrease, down 0.16 percent or $62,107, from $38,057,036 to $37,994,929.

Wyoming County’s 2014 revenue was almost identical to the 2013 sales tax. The county increased by 0.13 percent or $22,255, going from $16,831,191 to $16,853,446.

Livingston County saw a sizable increase, growing 2.97 percent or by $899,100, from $30,229,388 to $31,128,489.

Orleans saw the most growth of them all, increasing 5.96 percent from $14,819,904 to $15,703,362.

While Orleans saw the biggest rate of increase, the county still lags in sales tax per capita. Wyoming County, with 42,155 residents, has almost the same population as Orleans with 42,883 residents, according to the 2010 Census.

However, Wyoming collects about $1.1 million more in sales tax than in Orleans. The sales tax is an indicator of the economic health of a community, and the money also reduces pressure on property taxes and helps pay for government services and programs.

In Wyoming County, the per capita for sales tax was $399.80 in 2014. In Orleans, the county averaged $366.19 per resident. The sales tax also includes money spent by visitors.

Livingston and Genesee do far better than Orleans and Wyoming. Livingston, population 65,393, has a sales tax per capita of $476.02, while Genesee County (population 60,079) has a per capita for sales tax at $632.42, about $266 more than in Orleans.