State Comptroller Nancy Wyman said today that sharply declining tax revenues will leave the state with a projected budget deficit of $67.7 million when the 2008 fiscal year ends on June 30.
Wyman, who last month had estimated a year-end surplus of $152.2 million, attributed the drop mainly to reduced collections of the payroll-withholding portion of the income tax related to job losses, and a delay in collecting $82.5 million in federal Medicaid revenue.Â
Wyman’s projection is $83.4 million lower than the last official estimate from the governor’s budget office of a $15.7 million surplus, and $48.7 million less than the governor’s statement this week that the state will see a $19 million deficit. The comptroller’s estimate is based mainly on lower projections of payroll tax and sales tax receipts.
Taxes that corporations pay on profits and the tax on real-estate transactions are also in decline. Wyman noted that one bright spot in the national economic outlook is that after five months of decline, the index of leading economic indicators rose slightly in March, indicating that the current downturn may be easing somewhat. Â
