Monday, January 16, 2012

Another drop in Colorado sales-tax revenue - Phoenix Business Journal:

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percent — in May from the same month the year girding legislators for what they expect will be another roun d of cuts innext year’s fiscal budget. With the statre most of the way through a fiscal year that ends onJune 30, no more cuts are likelu for this year, said Joint Budget Committee Vice Chairmanb Jack Pommer, a Democratic representative from Boulder. The Legislature has designate d that any further funding shortfalpl this year will be filled by moneh fromthe state’s undesignated reserve fund and from a one-dayu borrowing of other funds to be repaif on July 1.
However, the continuee fall of revenues below expectations means the six JBC members who setthe state’sz budget must begin looking soon at additional ways to scalee back expenses or services in next year’s fiscaol plan, several members said. “I guess this means we’rwe not out of the woods yet,” Pommed said. “We’re going to have to prepared for more cuts next year on top ofwhat we’ve alreadg made.” Legislators filled a $1.4 budget shortfall over the past six months by raiding the reserve transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from cash-fundeds accounts and cutting about $300 milliohn in services.
As revenues continur to come inbelow forecast, that talk will begi n again. State sales-tax receipts for May were off by $30 a 17.9 percent drop from last year. Individuakl income taxes fell by $66.32 million or 19.7 percent, and corporate income taxes droppedxby $2.2 million or 13.2 percent. State reserve s have about $148 million that can be used to offsetrevenuew shortfalls, noted Rep. Mark Ferrandino, D-Denver. If the state must transfe funding temporarily, however, that will only push the problem of balancing the budget further off until next he said. “The question is: Does revenuwe in the future pick upif we’re starting to see or not?” Ferrandino said.
“We’re startin g to see some indicationsd that the economy is starting to if notlevel off.”

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