Final PA budget deficit: $3.25 Billion

Pennsylvania finished with a $3.25 billion budget deficit for the 2008-09 fiscal year ending June 30, according to the Department of Revenue, which released estimated final tax revenue numbers today.

The state collected $2.3 billion in General Fund revenue in June, $415.3 million, or 15.5 percent, less than anticipated, according to Secretary of Revenue Stephen H. Stetler

Fiscal year 2008-09 General Fund collections totaled $25.5 billion, which is $3.25 billion, or 11.3 percent, below estimate, Stetler said.

Tax revenues, which were in the red for all 12 months of the past fiscal year, were down significantly in almost every category in June.

From a Pennsylvania Department of Revenue release:

Sales tax receipts totaled $675.6 million for June, which was $67.6 million below estimate. Sales tax collections for the fiscal year totaled $8.1 billion, which is $595.3 million, or 6.8 percent, less than anticipated.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in June was $818.4 million, which was $207.1 million below estimate. This brought fiscal year PIT collections to $10.2 billion, which is $1.3 billion, or 11.2 percent, below estimate.

June corporation tax revenue of $411.6 million was $82.2 million below estimate. Fiscal year corporation tax collections totaled $4.8 billion, which is $613.9 million, or 11.3 percent, below estimate.

Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $67.7 million in inheritance tax, $10.6 million below estimate, bringing the fiscal year total to $772.2 million, which is $105 million below estimate.

Realty transfer tax was $27.1 million for June, bringing the total to $294.5 million for the fiscal year, which is $117 million less than anticipated.

Other General Fund revenue including cigarette, malt beverage and liquor taxes totaled $101.3 million for the month, $5 million below estimate, bringing the fiscal year total to $1.1 billion, which is $26.2 million below estimate.

Non-tax revenue totaled $155.9 million for the month, $30.9 million below estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $235.2 million, which is $506.4 million below estimate.

In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $161.7 million for the month, $38.6 million below estimate. Fiscal year collections for the fund totaled $2.6 billion, which is $175.8 million, or 6.4 percent, below estimate.