For Niagara County, there is a payoff for some of those traffic jams near Canadian border crossings: sales tax revenue. Those Canadian shoppers are spending a lot of money. County Treasurer Kyle Andrews says it isn't just at the stores in the Factory Outlet Mall but also in a Super Walmart in North Tonawanda. Others say it reflects Canadian liquor laws on imports of alcoholic beverages because prices on the Ontario side of the border are so much higher than in New York.
Andrews says sales tax revenues to the county are up six percent, balancing bills from Albany.
"Some of the costs which come down from Albany, the Medicaid and a large state retirement increases which we have experienced over the last few years. The growth in sales tax has really allowed the county to offset those without negatively impacting our financial position," Andrews says.
Andrews says the money is nice but there are aren't any future budget plans based on the increases continuing. He says Ontario shopping can go down just as fast as it goes up if the Canadian dollar drops in value as it has done before.
