• About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
Friday, May 20, 2022
The Iowa Torch
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion
The Iowa Torch
The Iowa Torch
No Result
View All Result
Home State Government

Iowa Experiences $4.9 Million Loss In Retail Sales Tax During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt the second quarter of 2020 a $4.9 million loss in sales taxes, according to a report released from the Iowa Department of Revenue.

Mary StrokabyMary Stroka
February 12, 2021
in State Government
Reading Time: 3 mins read
Iowa Experiences $4.9 Million Loss In Retail Sales Tax During COVID-19

Photo Credit: Tony Webster (CC-By-2.0)

(The Center Square) – Retail sales tax collection in Iowa dropped from Fiscal Year 2019 to 2020 for the first time in at least five years.

RELATED POSTS

Absentee voting period begins in Iowa for June 7 primary

Appel to retire from Iowa Supreme Court

Reynolds announces $20M in grants for downtown housing projects

The COVID-19 pandemic dealt the second quarter of 2020 a .23 percent loss ($4.9 million) in sales taxes, according to a report released Tuesday from the Iowa Department of Revenue.

Polk County brought in the most retail tax for the state with $518.75 million, or 21.69 percent, of the retail tax, in Fiscal Year 2020, and about $122 million of that total came in during the second quarter. Des Moines brought in $55.12 million during the same quarter, followed by Cedar Rapids ($45.09 million) and Davenport ($30.87 million).

In terms of taxes lost, the business group that suffered the steepest decline – 15.35% – from Fiscal Year 2019 to Fiscal Year 2020 was apparel; followed by eating and drinking, which decreased 6.4 percent between the quarters; and services, with a decrease of 6.08 percent. The second quarter of 2020 brought in 44.93 percent less in taxes for apparel compared with the second quarter of 2019. Taxes brought in by building materials, specialty retail and food dealers increased the highest percentage between those two quarters. Building materials also had the highest growth – 9.61% – between the fiscal years.

Consumers’ use taxes decreased 6.72 percent, with no growth in any categories, which were based on amount of tax due. The most significant drops were in purchases that owed taxes of $50,000-99,999 (16 percent decrease); $100-149 (15.83 percent decrease); and $1,500-$1,999 (14.61 percent decrease). Purchases that owed $3,000-$3,999 or $25,000-$49,999 experienced the least decreases: .7 percent and .98 percent respectively.

However, retailers’ use tax increased 10.96 percent, which benefited from growth in the categories of purchases that owed $100,000 or more in taxes (which brought in $364.9 million) and $10,000-$24,999 in taxes (bringing in $50.62 million).

Remote sellers tax nearly quadrupled, rising 283.91 percent between the fiscal years. The 19,475 returns from remote sellers amounted to $100 million. Nearly a third of remote seller returns were from sales that generated less than $50 per return. The highest growth in tax from the previous fiscal year (328.37 percent) was from 93 purchases that brought in $52.92 million in computed tax.

ADVERTISEMENT

In the third quarter of 2020, Iowa’s real gross domestic product grew 36.4% from the second quarter, which had taken a 28.2 percent hit from the first quarter, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report. The durable goods (includes motor vehicles, household equipment and recreational vehicles) manufacturing (6.77 percent); health care and social assistance (4.07 percent); nondurable goods manufacturing, which includes clothing, gasoline and food and beverages for off-premises consumption (3.45 percent); government and government enterprises (2.99 percent); and accommodation and food services (2.85 percent) industries experienced the largest increased contributions to the GDP while management of companies and enterprises (.15 percent), utilities (.03 percent) and mining, quarrying and oil and gas extraction (-.01 percent) had the least gains.

The United States overall in the fourth quarter of 2020 saw personal consumption expenditures decrease .10 percent for nondurable goods, no change for durable goods, and a 1.33 percent increase for personal health care, according to the Bureau’s preliminary report.

According to the latest data from Iowa Workforce Development, there were 5,938 initial unemployment insurance claims and 46,708 continued weeks claimed in the last week of January 2021. The counties that had the highest numbers of initial unemployment claims that week were Polk County (979 claims), Linn County (435 claims), and Scott County (306 claims). Workers in the construction industry filed the most initial claims that week in both counties, as well as statewide figures. Iowa unemployment was a record-high 11 percent in April 2020. In December 2020, it was 3.1 percent.

Tags: COVID-19Iowa Department of RevenueSales Tax
ShareTweetShare
ADVERTISEMENT
Previous Post

Iowa House Approves Bill That Doubles The Adoption Tax Credit

Next Post

Iowa’s U.S. House Members Urge Biden Admin to Include Iowa’s FQHCs in COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Mary Stroka

Mary Stroka

Mary Stoka is a freelance writer, editor, journalist, and public relations professional who lives in Chicago, Ill.

Related Posts

teacher teaching her students
Federal Government

Miller-Meeks introduces resolution to unmask students

April 21, 2022
State Government

Bill protecting religious liberty passes Iowa House in bipartisan fashion

March 22, 2022
Windschitl: Protecting Iowans’ Second Amendment Rights
Opinion

Windschitl: The Art of Compromise

March 21, 2022
46 manufacturers receive $20M in workforce innovation grants from state
State Government

46 manufacturers receive $20M in workforce innovation grants from state

March 4, 2022
Holt: Education, Free Speech & Justice for All
Opinion

Holt: That’s right, I am an Iowan!

March 4, 2022
Local Government

Des Moines ends mask mandate for city buildings

February 28, 2022
Next Post
Hinson, Miller-Meeks, Axne, and Feenstra Sworn Into 117th Congress

Iowa's U.S. House Members Urge Biden Admin to Include Iowa's FQHCs in COVID-19 Vaccination Program

Ernst: Follow The Science and Data: Get Kids Safely Back In School

Ernst: Follow The Science and Data: Get Kids Safely Back In School

Sign-Up For Our Daily Updates

Get The Iowa Torch right in your inbox!

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

Recommended Articles

Hinson: We Need to Reform Our Legal Immigration System

June 29, 2021
Ernst: ‘We can, and we should, safely reopen our schools’

Ernst: ‘We can, and we should, safely reopen our schools’

February 25, 2021

Iowa House Bill Limits Product Liability Lawsuits Targeting the Firearms Industry

February 23, 2021

Popular Stories

  • Bird Says She Will Challenge Tom Miller for Attorney General

    Bird raises $300k for Attorney General campaign in 2022

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Reynolds endorses two pro-school choice Iowa House candidates

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Five Iowa House Republicans took money from teachers’ union PAC

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Appel to retire from Iowa Supreme Court

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Vander Hart: How can we trust Liz Mathis?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

The Iowa Torch

The Iowa Torch​ is a for-profit, news organization that focuses on political news as it relates to Iowans

Categories

  • Education
  • Federal Government
  • Iowa History
  • Local Government
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • State Government
  • Uncategorized

Newsletter

Please wait...

Thank you for signing up!

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • State Government
  • Federal Government
  • Local Government
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Opinion

© 2022 The Iowa Torch, a publication of 4:15 Communications, LLC.