Quincy News: State tax revenue shortfall could hit $575 million

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Follow the money
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– News and commentary about elsewhere covered by Quincy Quarry News.

State tax revenue shortfall could hit $575 million.

The Baker administration has been tight-lipped about the scope of the state’s immediate budget problems, but the potential depth of the revenue struggle that’s unfolded over the first 10 months of the fiscal year is laid bare in new financial disclosure statements.

Tax revenues falling short
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After marking down expected state tax collections last October by $175 million, the governor’s budget staff now expects tax collections for fiscal 2017, which ends June 30, to fall between $375 million and $575 million below projections.

Put into context, the shortfall is expected to run somewhere between 1% to 1.5% of the Fiscal Year 2017 state budget spending.

Rainy Day fund looking a bit fishy?
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While even as much a 1.5% is not necessarily an insurmountable shortfall, with but a month to go and the state’s “Rainy Day” reserves only totaling $1.25 billion, a potentially as much as $575 million revenue shortfall during what most would view a healthy economy poses grave concerns.

For example, the current revenue shortfall does not bode well for funding the upcoming Fiscal Year 2018 state budget at the levels which the state legislature has been planning to ladle out for next year even as revenue for this year has been coming up short.

Sorry Tom: No advance on your allowance
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While administration officials were tight-lipped as to how they plan to address the revenue shortfall, it would appear key steps to address it will include slow-paying bills as well as continuing to ratchet down and so become even more tightfisted during the final month of the current fiscal year.

That and likely continuing to do so into next year.