WNED 970 News

Comptrollers Issue Warning on Sales Tax Reliance

Chris Caya

BUFFALO (2007-07-18) State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says counties across New York are now generating more revenue from sales taxes than property taxes. He says that could lead to problems down the road.

"You could argue that Erie County, in some ways, is the poster child for what Comptroller DiNapoli is talking about," says County Comptroller Mark Poloncarz.

Poloncarz says with libraries included, the property tax makes up about 14% of Erie County's revenues. Roughly 24% of revenue comes from sales tax.

"It's a problem because the sales tax is economically based. You could have good years and you could have bad years, and if you have a bad year...you're going to run into deficits. Whereas with the county property yaxes, those are pretty stable," Poloncarz told WNED News.

Poloncarz says that's why Wall Street likes property taxes.

The state comptroller's report also shows that as revenues were declining counties statewide increased spending. Also, there has been little growth in state aid to the counties over the past decade.

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