From the Rockefeller Institute comes news of devastating shortfalls in state income tax revenue.
In FY 2008, personal income tax revenue made up over 50 percent of total tax collections in six states — Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, and Virginia. Personal income tax revenue declined dramatically in all six of these states for the months of January-April of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008.
For all states, income tax is roughly 1/3 of total taxes and revenue dropped 25%. That translate to an immediate and probably unexpected shortfall of 8%, a big hit indeed. Oregon looks to be the worst hit, their shortfall is 18%, while California’s is 15%.
Press release
And just a year ago we (Oregon) were sending out “kicker” checks totaling just a bit more than a billion dollars of budget “surplus” money – something the right-wing freakazoids pushed through when retaining the reins of power and a sizable potion of today’s woe. Being who I am – just begging for someone to start something with me – I like to ask ’em “who do you feel about that kicker today?” to cold stares and no takers on the ass-kicking.
Good write up yesterday about the “Housing Hurricane” (Forbes, March), my hometown, where seven generations of my family has abode, on the frontpage of yesterday’s NYTimes.
On the subject of California taxes: http://www.sacbee.com/walters/story/1959553.html?mi_rss=Dan%20Walters
“The California Commission on the 21st Century Economy, better known as the Parsky Commission for its chairman, businessman Gerald Parsky, is on the verge of proposing a massive tax system overhaul to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and legislators.
Although revenue-neutral – that is, not changing the amount of money now collected – the plan will probably propose abolishing corporate income taxes and the state sales tax in favor of a “net receipts” tax that’s similar to the value-added taxes common in European countries, replacing the steeply progressive personal income tax with a flat tax, perhaps 6 percent, and adding a “carbon tax” to reduce fuel use.”