An Initial Look at Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Local Government Fiscal Condition
Different Types of Revenues Affected Differently by Pandemic. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been an unprecedented disruption to California’s economy. While the particular experience of each local government likely varies based on its economic drivers, our analysis discusses what we know so far about how key local revenues property taxes, sales and use taxes, user charges, and transient occupancy (hotel) taxes have been affected by the pandemic. Property tax revenue has remained largely stable during the pandemic. Despite overall declines in sales and use tax revenue, there was some significant variation among local governments. In addition, user-based service likely saw revenues decline due to executive orders and public health requirements. Finally, significant declines in travel and tourism likely have impacted transient occupancy tax revenue. The impact on local gover