PA budget deficit tops $1.2 billion

Another month, another round of bad fiscal news out of Harrisburg.

With one month left in the 2009-10 fiscal year, Pennsylvania has spent $1.2 billion more than it has collected in tax revenues. (That's on top of the $3.25 billion deficit the Rendell Administration ran up in the 2008-09 fiscal year.)

Pennsylvania collected $1.8 billion in General Fund revenue in May, which was $124.9 million, or 6.5 percent, less than anticipated, according to Secretary of Revenue C. Daniel Hassell.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $24.6 billion, which is $1.2 billion, or 4.8 percent, below estimate, Hassell reported.

From the PA Department of Revenue:

Sales tax receipts totaled $652.3 million for May, $27 million below estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $7.3 billion, which is $369.8 million, or 4.9 percent, less than anticipated.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in May was $691.6 million, $46.6 million below estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $8.9 billion, which is $311.1 million, or 3.4 percent, below estimate.

May corporation tax revenue of $85.8 million was $53.6 million below estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $4 billion, which is $484.6 million, or 10.7 percent, below estimate.

Other General Fund revenue figures for the month included $61.8 million in inheritance tax, $6.5 million below estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $676.6 million, which is $17.7 million below estimate.

Read more at the link below:

Revenue Department Releases May Collections