Auditor-Controller Joe Harn recently posted to the county’s website the El Dorado County Sales Tax update for the quarter ending March 2020.

The report indicates the county’s sales tax revenues dropped by 15.9% compared to the same time period in 2019 on a cash basis. This decrease is attributed to late or nonexistent payments by approximately 400 businesses. The state authorized many, but not all, of these 400 businesses to pay and report up to 90 days late.  Further, in March 2020, the county issued a shelter-in-place directive that caused gasoline sales and restaurant sales to decline. On the bright side, revenues from online shopping increased significantly.

The county’s sales and use tax consultant, the HDL Companies, estimates that when all the late-filing businesses do pay, the revenue drop for the quarter will be approximately 2.1%. It is important to remember that a number of the 400 businesses that did not file on time have closed permanently and will probably not pay the sales tax that is due for the second quarter.

Further, the state’s mandated restrictions on economic activity have adversely affected sales tax collection in the second and third quarters of 2020.

The report can be found at edcgov.us/Government/Auditor-Controller/Documents/Sales%20Tax/Sales%20Tax%20Report%202020-Q1.pdf.