Sales Tax & Occupancy Tax
Every time you buy most taxable goods in Yates County, you pay sales tax. When visitors stay in short-term lodging, they may also pay occupancy tax. This page tracks what can be confirmed from official records, shows what is still missing, and keeps the focus on the accountability question residents should be asking: where does that money go?
What We Can Confirm Right Now
This page separates confirmed public information from open questions. If the records are clear, this page says so. If they are not, it says that plainly too.
Sales Tax
Confirmed: New York State sets a base sales-tax rate. Counties may levy an additional local portion, which requires authorization by the county legislature.
Data pending: Exact Yates County local-share rate, annual revenue total, and allocation breakdown — official record not yet added to this page.
Data pending: Where official county documents show the local sales-tax share is deposited — official record not yet added.
Occupancy Tax
Data pending: Whether Yates County currently imposes an occupancy tax — local law or resolution not yet added to this page.
Data pending: What types of stays it applies to and what the rate is — official record not yet added.
Data pending: What official records say about where occupancy-tax revenue goes — budget or fund record not yet added.
Confirmed Revenue & Allocation Records
Residents should not have to guess whether these taxes generate meaningful revenue. This table shows only what official records already support. Rows without confirmed numbers are labeled plainly.
| Revenue Stream | Amount / Period | Source Record | What the Record Says |
|---|---|---|---|
| County sales tax revenue | Data pending | Official record not yet added | — |
| Occupancy tax revenue | Data pending | Official record not yet added | — |
| Documented allocation / distribution record | Data pending | Official record not yet added | — |
Rows will be updated as official Yates County records are gathered and verified. See the Records section below to request them directly.
Who Decides & Where the Money Goes
For residents, the most important question is not just how much is collected. It is who controls the money after collection and whether that process is visible.
Sales Tax Decision Point
Occupancy Tax Decision Point
What Is Still Missing
- Total annual sales-tax revenue collected in Yates County
- Local-share rate and adopted distribution formula
- Occupancy-tax status, rate, and authorizing local law
- How either revenue stream is documented in adopted county budgets
Watchdog Spotlight
"If residents are paying it — or visitors are being charged it in our name — the public should be able to see where the money goes."
Sales tax is easy to ignore because it is spread across hundreds of purchases. Occupancy tax is easy to ignore because many residents do not pay it directly. But both are public revenue streams, and public revenue should be trackable. If official records do not show residents how much is collected and where it goes, that is a transparency problem.
Records Residents Can Request
If the county does not present this information clearly in one place, residents can still ask for it directly.
Sales Tax Revenue Reports
Request annual and monthly county sales tax receipts, including any breakdowns showing local share, distributions, and year-over-year totals.
Occupancy Tax Collection Reports
Request annual and monthly occupancy tax collections, including totals by fund, category, or reporting period if maintained.
Legislative Resolutions
Request county legislature resolutions, local laws, or meeting minutes approving, renewing, extending, or allocating sales-tax or occupancy-tax revenue.
Budget Allocation Records
Request the county budget lines, fund reports, or internal summaries showing where these revenues are deposited and how they are spent.
Supporting Memos & Staff Summaries
Request non-privileged staff memos, summaries, and public-facing explanations showing how these taxes are administered and tracked.
Exact Records Needed To Fill The Gaps
The table on this page is only as strong as the public records behind it. These are the exact county records needed to turn "Data pending" into real numbers residents can review for themselves.
Sales Tax Revenue Records
Request annual and monthly county sales-tax receipts for at least the most recent 5 fiscal years, including any breakdown of the local share and any distribution reports.
Occupancy Tax Records
Request the local law, resolution, or policy authorizing any county occupancy tax, plus annual and monthly collection records and any fund or account reports showing where the money is deposited.
Allocation & Budget Records
Request budget lines, fund reports, finance-office summaries, and legislative resolutions showing how sales-tax and occupancy-tax revenue is allocated or spent.
Paste-Ready FOIL Request
Copy & paste into a FOIL request1. Annual and monthly Yates County sales-tax revenue reports for the most recent 5 fiscal years, including any breakdown of the county's local share.
2. Any local law, resolution, ordinance, or policy authorizing an occupancy tax in Yates County, plus annual and monthly occupancy-tax collection records.
3. Any adopted budget lines, fund reports, allocation schedules, legislative resolutions, or staff summaries showing where county sales-tax or occupancy-tax revenue is deposited, distributed, or spent.
Current Status
As of now, this page shows "Data pending" wherever the underlying official county record has not yet been added. Once records are obtained and verified, those rows should be updated with real figures and linked source notes.
Public Record Status Tracker
This section shows where the record-gathering process stands. If a document has not been requested yet, say so. If it has been requested but not received, say that. If it has been received and used to update the page, mark that clearly too.
| Record Type | Current Status | What It Would Clarify |
|---|---|---|
| County sales-tax revenue reports | Not yet added | Annual and monthly sales-tax totals and any local-share breakdown |
| Occupancy-tax authorizing law or resolution | Not yet added | Whether Yates County currently imposes an occupancy tax and under what authority |
| Occupancy-tax collection records | Not yet added | How much occupancy tax has been collected and over what period |
| Budget or fund allocation records | Not yet added | Where sales-tax or occupancy-tax revenue is deposited and how it is spent |
| Legislature resolutions / meeting records | Not yet added | Who approved, renewed, extended, or allocated the relevant tax authority |
This tracker should be updated as records are requested, received, reviewed, and added to the page. The goal is to let residents see not just the conclusions, but the document trail behind them.
Source & Method Note
This page shows only what can be confirmed from official county records already gathered and added to the site workflow. Any item marked "Data pending" is intentionally left unresolved until the underlying record is available. The goal is not to fill space — it is to give residents a tax page they can trust.
This Page Will Expand
This page is a live public explainer and will continue to expand as more local records are gathered, reviewed, and linked. Where public reporting is incomplete, the goal is to show residents what is known, what is missing, and what records are worth requesting next.