2021 Sales Tax Revenue Breaks Record

Jefferson- Ashtabula County Auditor David Thomas announced total collections for the county’s sales tax for the 2021 Fiscal Year and the numbers look good. Collections from sales tax were up 11% over 2020, a year which itself was up 11% from 2019.

“We are thrilled in the positive trend our sales tax has been heading for revenue to county government to provide essential services to our taxpayers,” shared Board of Commissioners President Kathryn Whittington.

Ashtabula County collected $13,330,105.70 in sales tax for Fiscal Year 2021, a $1.3 million increase over collections in 2020 which covers sales from October 2020 to September 2021. “This year’s tax collection is the largest Ashtabula County has seen, which I believe is a direct result from our increased economic activity and recovery,” said Commissioner JP Ducro.

Ashtabula County’s $13.3 Million for 2021 overtook 2020 as the highest year in collection moving 2016 to third place at $10.8 Million. The lowest over the past decade was in 2010 where the county saw sales tax revenue drop to $8.5 Million.

The Ashtabula County portion of sales tax is 1%, while the state collects in 5.75% for a total of 6.75%. Comparatively, Cuyahoga County’s portion of 2.25% is the region’s highest with Lake County at 1.25% and both Geauga and Trumbull also at 1%.

“We have seen steady growth in our sales tax collection despite no change in the tax rate,” shared Commissioner Kozlowski. “This means our county’s economic activity is increasing, people are spending more dollars in county, and consumer confidence is at an impressive high.”

The largest areas of growth were in traditional sales, motor vehicle sales, and statewide master. Thomas pointed to these descriptions as being a mix of local and national retail companies. “Statewide master category is when a store has a location in Ashtabula County but reports out of somewhere else for their headquarters kinda like a Walmart,” said Auditor Thomas. “The traditional sales tax is a growth we have experienced due to online sales tax and our tourism base during the pandemic.”

Prior to 2018, sales tax was traditionally not collected for online purchases in the State of Ohio. Once that revenue stream was reported and collected, more rural areas of Ohio such as Ashtabula County benefited from those sales and the tax revenue staying in county.

“In the pandemic, and even still now, online shopping is huge. Our residents used to travel out of county to Mentor or Erie but now find it easier to buy something online or stay in county,” said Auditor Thomas. “Previously we didn’t see that revenue, now we do and are benefiting from the money staying locally.”

Ashtabula County’s tourism base, which saw an increase in 2020 and 2021, also greatly contributes to sales tax as out of town guests cover a portion of sales tax revenue according to Commissioner Kozlowski.

The County government relies on sales tax to fund operations and provide services. Thomas gave estimates that roughly half of the revenue used for the general fund comes from sales tax while less than 10% is received in from property taxes making sales tax an essential part of operations for the county.

Commissioner Ducro added, “increased sales tax allows us to offset the growing expensive operations such as health insurance increases in excess of $1 million this year as well as providing competitive wages for our challenging labor market.”