Sales Tax Considerations During the Pandemic

I have been having a great deal of conversations with folks across the state about what is going on with their sales taxes (and occupancy and food and beverage taxes).  What has happened versus what was expected for FY21 and what they are thinking about for FY22 now that local governments are starting to begin their budget processes.  I thought it might be useful to share some of the questions I have been getting and my answers to them and some of my broader thoughts about sales taxes and the pandemic, though it is no crystal ball.  I am going to structure it like a q&a.  I am not covering everything here and please reach out if there is more than I can help with.   Q: Our sales taxes are recovering quickly, what are you seeing other places in the state? A: We are seeing that sales taxes have recovered more quickly than most people anticipated. That is great news, but I think a dose of caution should accompany it.  First, we see a bump starting in in the June collections (so sales for the month of May) where it went from down 13.3% year-over-year to down 4% year-over-year