Tax collections in Franklin County in April were down nearly 40 percent from April, 2019 because of the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Tax collections in Franklin County in April were down nearly 40 percent from April, 2019 because of the quarantine caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

April was the first full month of the quarantine which closed most non-essential businesses as well as rental homes.

Travel was also discouraged during the month.

Franklin County finance director Erin Griffin reported on Tuesday that Franklin County's tourist development tax collection was just over 20 thousand dollars in April about 75 percent lower than in April, 2019 when collections were over 82 thousand dollars.

Collections from the local 1 cent sales tax that funds Franklin County's Health care trust fund fell from over 152 thousand dollars in April, 2019 to just under 93 thousand dollars in April, 2020.

Overall, local tax collections in April were down 39 percent from the year before, which turns out to be good news because the county was preparing for a 50 percent drop.

Griffin said she is optimistic that the tax drop won't be a huge hit for the upcoming fiscal year.

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