IE Business Daily Business news for the Inland Empire.
Palm Spring is asking for federal assistance to help offset a potential loss of $78 million in tax revenue because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In a letter sent to President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and other top federal officials, Palm Springs officials state that the city’s economy was all but stopped by the pandemic in March, according to a statement on the city’s website.
After closing almost all of its hotels, restaurant and shops, Palm Spring – a city that relies greatly on tourism and the transient occupancy tax to pay for basic services – became one of the first U.S. cities to declare a fiscal emergency.
“Absent financial assistance from the state or federal government, [Palm Springs] is faced with substantially reducing or eliminating vital core services,” the statement reads.
At its current pace, Palm Springs expects to lose $28 million for the 2019- ’20 fiscal year, which will end June 30, and $50 million for the 2020-’21 fiscal year.
“Unlike the Great Recession, which gradually built-up in severity and occurred over 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused such a significant swift and sustained stop to the entire economy that the fiscal effects are staggering,” the letter states.
