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State revenue collections show impact of COVID-19 pandemic
Indiana’s monthly revenue report, released Friday, shows that the state is still falling short of the funds that were expected when the forecast was made last December.
Indiana’s monthly revenue report, released Friday, shows that the state is still falling short of the funds that were expected when the forecast was made last December.
Gov. Eric Holcomb said the budget agency is estimating that Indiana could take in $3 billion less than expected during the last two months of fiscal year 2020—which ends June 30—and fiscal year 2021.
Budget officials predicted Indiana would collect nearly $2.2 billion in revenue in April, but it only received $1.23 billion, for a difference of $964 million.
State and local government budgets are expected to be hit hard as a result of restaurants, retailers and other businesses being closed for weeks.
City and county officials are grappling with the sacrifices they’ll have to make as plummeting employment, delayed collections and reduced economic activity cut into tax revenue.
Cris Johnston, director of the Indiana Office of Management and Budget, said Thursday that the state has begun to use some of its $2.3 billion reserve fund. Indiana is far from alone.
A former Senate budget writer said the hit to the state budget could be bigger than during the Great Recession, when state revenue dropped 15% over two years.
Details on the president’s economic rescue plan remain sparse, but its centerpiece is to dedicate $500 billion to start issuing direct payments to Americans by early next month. It would also funnel cash to businesses to help keep workers on payroll.
Sen. Aaron Freeman, the Indianapolis Republican and former city councilor who authored the legislation, said his goal is not to cripple the bus system’s operations but to hold IndyGo accountable to a 2014 law that required it to fund some of its operations with private funds.
The agreement announced Monday would bring together the maker of TurboTax, QuickBooks and other personal finance tools with one focusing on consumers’ access to financial products, such as finding the right loan or credit card.
More than 1,400 Geist households want a special taxing district that would raise money to maintain the reservoir. But other residents say the taxes would benefit mostly lakefront property owners, not people who live a few blocks away.
The agency said Wednesday that it is stepping up its efforts to visit high-income taxpayers who failed in prior years to file their tax returns on time.
The U.S. budget deficit through the first four months of this budget year is up 19% from the same period a year ago.
The president unveiled an election year budget plan on Monday that recycles previously rejected cuts to domestic programs like food stamps and Medicaid to promise a balanced budget in 15 years—while leaving Social Security and Medicare benefits untouched.
Billionaire Democratic presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg is unveiling a tax plan that would target the richest Americans—increasing rates on capital gains and corporate gains as well as introducing a new 5% surtax on incomes above $5 million.
Senate Bill 385, authored by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis, would change the way the state’s business personal property tax is calculated.
The bill moved through the Indiana General Assembly faster than usual. The chambers usually wait until the halfway point of the session to consider legislation that originated in the opposite chamber.
The repeal ends a 2.3% tax on thousands of medical devices, from stents and catheters to pacemakers and MRI machines. Indiana is home to 155 device-makers, ranging from small metal shops to multibillion-dollar manufacturers.
The state is expecting an additional $531 million in revenue over the next biennium, according to a forecast released Friday. The additional dollars would bring reserves up to $2.4 billion in 2020 and $2.6 billion in 2021.
The Democratic-controlled House voted Tuesday to approve a $1.4 trillion government-wide spending package with an unusually large load of unrelated provisions on the must-do legislation—including an add-on that would hike the legal age nationwide for purchasing tobacco products.