The state Board of Revenue Estimates dropped its estimate of state revenues by $80 million for the current year and $50 million for the upcoming fiscal year 2013.
The revision is a reduction in individual income tax revenue, partially offset by increases in corporation income taxes and sales taxes.
In the context of a $14 billion budget, these revisions are small – less than 1% of the total.
The March revenue revision is timed to give the legislature the latest information when they make their final decisions on the Governor’s budget. This new complicates slightly the legislature’s task, but not enormously.
The budget submitted by the Governor back in January projected a $164 million surplus at the end of fiscal year 2013. So that proposal remains balanced even after this write-down.
Senate and House of Delegates have the choice of moving forward with a balanced approach to balancing the budget – with restraint on expenditures and fair, moderate revenue measures. Or they can take the all-cuts “doomsday budget” approach. That option slashes local schools, access to healthcare, college opportunities, public safety resources and more. In other words, the “doomsday budget” approach balances the budget by selling off Maryland’s future prosperity.
The new revenue estimates don’t change that.
Thanks for the update!
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