During the past year, many of our customers have seen revenue from sales taxes, food-and-beverage taxes, hotel-motel taxes, and other fees slow to a trickle.
But soon, Americans are going to be vaxxing and relaxing—and spending, too.
Bloomberg Economics estimates that Americans have a stockpile of excess savings of nearly $1.7 trillion—and that figure doesn’t take into account the latest round of federal stimulus.
For those Americans who have been lucky enough to have remained employed during the pandemic, this stockpile of cash is burning a hole in their pockets. They are prepared to spend, spend, spend.
"As the economy reopens, consumer spending over the next two quarters is likely to be the strongest such period in at least 70 years with a rebound in services leading the way, according to economists at Wells Fargo & Co." - Bloomberg
What does this mean for your community and your government?
Small-business recovery: More than 110,000 bars and restaurants have closed due to the pandemic, plus untold other businesses. While this spending boom is too late for those shuttered establishments, it’s likely to save hundreds of thousands of others.
Additional revenue: In the same way that local businesses have been scraping by, so have many local governments. And since local governments can’t run deficits and it’s rare/impermissible for them to declare bankruptcy, many municipalities have had to make significant spending cuts. More demand, more spending will lead directly to local government economic recovery.
How can you help your local government and local businesses prepare for an uptick in consumer spending?
Help local businesses find staff: Many businesses can’t find staff as wages have not kept up with pandemic-relief benefits. Work with local business groups to identify their staffing needs and elevate job postings through social-media channels, local colleges and universities, not-for-profits, and job-placement agencies.
Tailor public services needs: Once-bustling bar-and-restaurant districts are primed to experience revitalization. Will these areas need increased street cleaning or municipal trash pickup? Do you need to spruce up streetlights, street furniture, signage, or landscaping? How will public safety be augmented in entertainment/leisure districts?
Get ready to review your revenue: This is a great time to take an in-depth look at your current books. Often, there are revenue leaks due to miscoded addresses and other errors. Examine every source of revenue, such as sales tax, hotel-motel tax, TOT tax, short-term rental tax, entertainment tax, utility user tax, franchise fees, and more. Address errors that are currently costing money, claw back that lost revenue, and secure those dollars going forth.
Add business-friendly tax-and-fee administration and compliance tools: If predictions become reality, your local business taxpayers will soon be so busy that they’ll need help staying compliant. Give them an easy-to-use digital solution that facilitates quick, convenient tax compliance so they can stay on top of monthly and quarterly tax payments, short-term rental administration, and other needs.
Ready to Maximize Revenue?
How Azavar & Localgov can help
Our team of local-government experts is well-versed in helping local government maximize revenue.
For more than 25 years, our revenue discovery system has uncovered millions in lost or missing taxes and fees for local governments.
Often, local governments lack specialized staff or knowledge to dig through financial documentation, much less analyze it for errors. It’s simply not a skillset many communities have in-house, especially when trying to keep payrolls slim.
Partner with our team to review your revenue—at no financial risk to you. We work on a contingency basis and only collect when we bring home money to your community.
Our tax-and-fee administration platform, Localgov, offers business taxpayers a simple and modern way to get compliant—quickly, easily, and on their terms. Add this solution to your municipality today.
Let’s talk. Between revenue reviews and the Localgov tax-and-fee administration platform, our 360 Degree Revenue Cloud approach can help municipalities get ready to make the most of post-pandemic economic recovery.
