Independent report shows Pa. revenues down yet again
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf is shown speaking during a news conference in Harrisburg in 2016. (AP Photo/Marc Levy
Just about two weeks before the governor gives his annual budget address, the state’s Independent Fiscal Office has released an updated revenue report.
Like most of the IFO’s reports in the last several months, this one does not contain good news.
After some promising growth in November, Pennsylvania’s economy has slumped back down according to Matthew Knittel, the IFO’s director.
He said he doesn’t know where the weakness is coming from, but it’s everywhere.
“It’s really broad-based,” Knittel said. “It’s hitting all individuals, businesses, investment income. It’s all weaker than we had projected.”
So how does that affect the commonwealth’s bottom line?
The report shows projected revenues for this fiscal year have fallen by another quarter million dollars.
That puts the estimated revenues for the year exactly $716 million below where the legislature predicted they’d be in this fiscal year’s budget.
The additional shortfalls also drive up the state’s long-term structural deficit, which has now increased to $2.8 billion.
Wolf has pledged that his budget plan will plug those financial holes without raising broad-based taxes.
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