PROVIDENCE – Collection of the local 1% meal and beverage tax in Rhode Island in April totaled $2.2 million, a 2.9% decline year over year, according to the R.I. Department of Revenue Monday.
The largest collection of the tax of any municipality in the state was in Providence ($562,239), although that represented a decline of 0.2% over the year. The largest nominal increase in the 1% food and beverage tax collection was in Johnston, where collections grew $14,169, or 21.4% year over year to $80,256.
The largest nominal decline in collection of the tax year over year took place in Warwick, where collections declined $32,786, or 15.8%, to $246,466 in April.
Fiscal year to date in April, collection of the tax totaled $22.6 million, a 4.6% decline from fiscal-year-to-date collections through April 2018. Of that $1.1 million difference, the DOR said that $535,923 was attributable to a one-time transfer to sales and use tax following an audit. After taking that transfer into account, the year-over-year decline in collections was 48.9%.
