Oswego Reports Record-Breaking Sales Tax Revenue Despite Pandemic

OSWEGO, IL — Despite the pandemic's financial effect on families, Oswego collected record-breaking sales tax revenue in the past fiscal year, the village's finance staff reported Monday.

The previous fiscal year ran from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, during which the village collected a total of $12.57 million in sales tax, up 6.75 percent from the year before. About 55 percent of the village's annual revenue annually comes from sales tax, which allows Oswego to rely less on property taxes, according to staff.

Currently, sales tax in the village is 8.5 percent on general merchandise, 6.25 percent on cars and 1 percent on qualifying food and drugs, according to the village website.

The record-breaking revenue, part of which was collected in the first half of this year, signals a swing back from pandemic-induced hardships, village officials said in a statement. In March alone, staff reported $1.3 million in sales tax revenue, the highest "ever recorded in a single month" in Oswego.

Between March and April, revenue was up 45 percent compared to the same period in 2020, according to officials.

"Even during the pandemic, we saw new businesses opening and our residents supporting their local favorites," Mayor Troy Parlier said in a statement. "Our local economy is strong and only getting stronger."

In June, the Village Board refunded some bonds to pay back old debt at a lower interest rate. The issuance was finalized in early August, saving Oswego residents $1.58 million in interest payments over the next 15 years, Patch reported.

The Board has also lowered residents' tax rates in the last two years, and water rates decreased, saving the average resident about 3.7 percent, or $17.40, annually.

RELATED: Oswego Bond Plan To Save Residents $1.58 Million Over 15 Years

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