Quincy News: State Tax collection rebound prediction not evident per mid-January numbers

A rosy scenario spring tax revenue forecast impending?
A Commonwealth file photo
– News covered by Quincy Quarry News with commentary added.

State tax collection rebound prediction not evident per mid-January numbers.

While Massachusetts Revenue Commissioner Christopher Harding stated in early January that a deep drop in December state tax receipts would correct itself during January, the early returns for for the first half of this month do not show it.

Follow the money …
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As was contemporaneously reported by Quincy Quarry, Revenue Commissioner Harding also said that the deep decline in state tax receipts in December was fueled by changes in federal tax law but state tax receipts would “likely to be stronger in January as a result of the shift.”

In a January 18 letter to lawmakers, however, Commissioner Harding now says that revenue collections are “uneven and weighted toward month-end, … (and thus mid-month figures) … should not be used to assess trends or project future revenues … (as only) … a portion of estimated payments are received and processed by the(ir, ed.) January 15 due date.”

LOOK OUT BELOW !!!
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At this point, one can only properly wonder just how accurately the state’s tax receipt projections will compare with actual receipts.

Also disconcerting, the original tax collection projection for Fiscal Year 2019 was $28.392 billion; subsequently, however, state officials on New Year’s Eve – and thus four days before reporting the huge drop in December tax receipts – raised their projection to $28.529 billion, citing “current year-to-date revenues and economic data” while at the same time backing off of the books their previous projection to collect $63 million in marijuana sales tax revenue.

Smoking while at the wheel …
Image via hightimes.com
In turn, one cannot help but wonder what state officials are smoking as they continue to blow smoke in the face of so far troubling early state tax receipt data.

Source: Tax rebound prediction not evident in mid-January numbers