State Revenue Collections Down Significantly

The State Department of Finance and Administration has reported that state revenue collections for September were $976.7 million, which is $85.5 million less than budgeted estimates. Even more sobering is the fact that this figure is actually 8.2% below September collections for 2007. For the state, this marks the second consecutive month in which sales taxes and corporate income taxes have shown negative growth rates from 2007 to 2008. So far this fiscal year, state revenue collections are off by $125 million over the prior year.