Kate Lisa and Natasha Vaughn are reporting for Johnson Newspaper Corp. statewide local sales-tax revenues declined by 11.8 percent or $225 million in the month of September, compared to the same time last year, largely due to a deep reduction in New York City collections and over-distributions, according to a report released November 2, by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. But while New York City collections dropped 43.9 percent, the rest of the state’s local sales-tax revenue increased 19 percent in September. Statewide sales-tax collections totaled $4.3 billion, reflecting a 9.5 percent decrease overall, or $452 million less than the same quarter in 2019. Locally, the amount collected in sales tax was up 7.9 percent in Columbia County and 6.6 percent in Greene County during third-quarter 2020 compared to the third quarter of 2019. Greene County Administrator Shaun Groden said early 2020 revenues were largely unaffected because the pandemic first hit the state in mid- to late March. Of $213.5 million in sales-tax revenue collected in the Capital Region in third-quarter 2019, Greene County reported $9.7 million to an increased $10.3 million between July and September 2020. Columbia County is up from $12.2 million for the quarter in 2019 to $13.2 million for the quarter in 2020. The tourism industry is the main driver for the region's economies, which are often the first to see a market hit and the last to financially recover. Read the full story at HudsonValley360 [dot] com.