Pa. revenue so far for 2011 higher than projected
Pennsylvania's revenue collections are stronger than expected halfway through the fiscal year, and could provide some relief going into a new budget.
Pennsylvania's revenue collections are coming in stronger than expected halfway through the fiscal year, and could provide a small measure of relief going into the 2011-12 budget, Gov. Rendell said Monday.
Revenue from July 1 through Dec. 31 was $191 million above budget estimates - more than 15 percent more than the revenue through the same period in 2009, Rendell said. The state could end the fiscal year June 30 with a $125 million cushion, he said.
The $2.3 billion in collections in December alone was $177 million, or 8.4 percent, above projections, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue. For the fiscal year to date, general fund collections total $11.5 billion, 1.7 percent above estimate.
The extra cash is another hopeful signal for the state's economy, as revenue failed to meet estimates for 23 consecutive months before June 2010.
The revenue report follows last month's decline in the state unemployment rate to 8.6 percent, the fourth straight month unemployment has fallen. The national unemployment rate is 9.8 percent.
"This is good news, coming on top of the unemployment figures. It's very good news for Pennsylvania," Rendell said. "We were confident that it would come in over estimate, but . . . it's awesome."
It's the first time since 2007 that state revenue has exceeded estimates halfway through the fiscal year, which begins July 1, Rendell said.
But it would make only a small dent in the estimated $4 billion to $5 billion budget gap faced by the state in 2011-12, due in part to the expiration of stimulus funding used to plug budget holes.
"We're still about $5 billion short," said Kevin Harley, spokesman for Gov.-elect Tom Corbett, who will be sworn in Jan. 18.
Harley said the good news did not change Corbett's commitment to reducing government.
"One thing consistent over the last eight years," Harley said, "is that we don't have a revenue problem, we've got a spending problem."
Rendell said every major category of tax revenue is up from the period ended Dec. 31, 2009, including corporate (8.1 percent), sales (4.9 percent), and personal income (12.2 percent). The governor said the personal income tax increase may not hold up through the year due to fluctuations in collections.
