Source: City of Santa Barbara
The City of Santa Barbara received $4.84 million in sales tax revenue during the quarter ended June 30, 2020, which is 15% below the same quarter last year. This is largely because of the reduced economic activity due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related response, which has affected nearly all economic sectors in the economy.
In addition, the State of California provided relief to many small businesses by extending the 3rd quarter deadline to file sales tax returns from April until July, and allowing some small businesses to spread those payments over the ensuing 12 months. The underlying economic activity locally is similar to economic activity nationally: a significant contraction due to the pandemic and response, but with signs of recovery underway, and full recovery likely to take several years.
As the second largest General Fund revenue, the sales tax finished the fiscal year 2020 at $21.2 million, which was below the sales tax budget of $23.8 million.
For additional information on recent sales tax results, click here.