One day after lawmakers approved a two-year budget, Comptroller Nancy Wyman today said the state ended the 2009 fiscal year with a budget deficit of $925.9 million, and may climb higher.
The deficit was driven mainly by the performance of the state income tax, which brought in approximately $1.3 billion less than the $7.6 billion that was budgeted, Wyman said. The income tax is the major source of revenue for the budget, which was $18.2 billion for the 2009 fiscal year.
Gov. M. Jodi Rell said Tuesday she will permit the adopted $37.6 billion budget act to become law but without her signature.
“Connecticut’s budget lives and dies by the income tax,” Wyman said, “and the enormous revenue decline we saw this year is directly attributable to the national economic downturn and the loss of nearly 70,000 jobs in our state.”
The $925.9 million deficit includes about $600 million of deficit-reduction steps taken during the year by the General Assembly.
Spending in 2009 increased by about 3.7 percent over 2008. In the three fiscal years preceding 2009, when the state realized significant surpluses, spending grew at an annual rate of almost 8 percent.
A portion of 2009 spending was funded through unspent reserves accumulated during prior fiscal years and “carried forward” to be spent in 2009.
The budget act for fiscal years 2010-2011 that was passed today by the General Assembly calls for approximately $21.6 million in 2009 funds to be carried forward to 2010-2011.
Once the budget act becomes law, the use of that $21.6 million would increase the 2009 deficit to $947.5 million, Wyman said.
