No sales tax changes at state level, but a record number for localities

Although state sales tax rates have not risen during the pandemic, new city and district sales taxes have risen rapidly for the first half of this year. “On a macro level, a lot of states experienced a huge drop in sales tax revenue when their economies took a hit,” observed Mike Bernard, chief tax officer at Vertex. “The shutdowns especially affected the transportation, hospitality and energy sectors in states where these predominate. Nevertheless, not one state upped its sales tax rate.”