When the various adjustments to the monthly payment are removed, net March sales tax collections increased by approximately 40.7%.  

“With the release of the March figures, sales taxes through the first six months of the fiscal year (October-March) are up 12.4%,” said Chief Financial Officer Jared Werner. “While we had anticipated that the activity for March would increase, a growth rate of 40% was surprising. In reviewing the March collections by industry, it is obvious that this high level of growth is attributable to a number of factors. As previously reported, it was anticipated that March collections would be impacted by the purchase of supplies and services to address damage caused by the winter storm. However, the March collections are also the first month where we are now comparing to the time period last year when closures and occupancy restrictions started taking place due to COVID-19. As a result, we are now observing double digit growths in the industries most severely impacted by the pandemic, such as full-service restaurants and department store retail.”