Sales tax down for 5th straight month

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Mahoning County Commissioner Anthony Traficanti

YOUNGSTOWN — Mahoning County’s March sales tax receipts, which reflect Christmas retail sales, are down only 1.66 percent from the March 2008 figure, but the decline marks the fifth consecutive month those receipts have declined.

The county’s March 2009 receipts, announced last week, are $2,921,666, compared to $2,971,131 a year ago.

The 1.66 percent drop was consistent with the 1.7 percent decline in December retail sales reported nationally by the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs.

A two-to-three-month lag occurs between collection of the sales tax at the cash registers and the county’s receipt of that money from the state.

March, which typically accounts for 10 percent of the year’s sales tax receipts, has been the highest month for sales tax receipts in recent years.

County Commissioner John A. McNally IV said he is “pleasantly surprised” that the drop in March wasn’t larger, but he said the five-month downward trend is unfavorable for the county.

“It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” Anthony T. Traficanti, commissioners chairman, said of the March decline.

But the five-month slide “reflects just how bad people are hurting,” he said. “There’s less money. We’ve seen an increase in unemployment. ... People aren’t spending. They’re trying to survive.”

For the full story, read Tuesday's Vindicator or Vindy.com.