COLORADO SPRINGS — There is a significant rebound happening with sales and use tax revenue in Colorado Springs. February collections recorded by the city in March 2021 are up over 18% compared to the previous year. A jump like that has not happened in close to four years.
A year ago March when covid forced a shut-down there were concerns over what it would do to the economy. Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said the city saw tax revenue drop 14% the first month, then more than 20% percent the next month. Hiring freezes happened and city departments had to trim budgets. "Then we monitored every month, do we need to make more cuts, do we need to make more?
The revenue surge a year later is welcome. “We obviously are rebounding very quickly," said Suthers.
There are a couple of key areas driving the sales tax revenue bump. “We are having record commercial and residential construction,” said Suthers, “On-line purchasing is off the charts.” Tax from retail sales is also big.
There are sectors dealing with numbers lower than normal due to the pandemic. “The only major component of our economy not running on all cylinders is tourism,” said Suthers. There are indicators of that also making a rebound come summer.
