Julie Deshaies | Shutterstock
by Brent Addleman, for The Center Square
(The Center Square) – May was an underperforming month for tax collections in Vermont, according to new figures released by the Agency of Administration.
While revenue did fall short for the general fund, Secretary of Administration Kristin Clouser said the transportation and education funds met their monthly targets as $197.5 million was collected.
“May represents the third month in a row the state has failed to achieve its combined monthly consensus revenue target,” Clouser said in a statement. “Although the administration is confident the General Fund will exceed its fiscal year-end goal, it remains to be seen by how much. June will be critical for determining whether the transportation and education funds meet their respective annual consensus forecast targets as approved by the Emergency Board.”
However, the collections fell shy of the target by $1.9 million.
The Transportation Fund, according to a release, reached its $26.2 million target but is still $1.4 million below the target for the fiscal year. Meanwhile, the gasoline tax, diesel tax, motor vehicle purchase and use tax, and other fees came in $1.1 million below target.
However, according to a release, this missed target was offset as motor vehicle fees revenue in May was over the target by $1.1 million.
According to a release, revenues in the Education Fund came in above the $53.6 million May target by $300,000. However, a $200,000 drop in motor vehicle purchase and use tax and an $800,000 miss in sales and use tax were offset by $800,000 in higher-than-expected revenues from net interest and a $500,000 overage in meals and rooms tax and lottery receipts.
For the year, according to a release, the general fund eclipsed the annual revenue forecast for the fiscal year 2023 that the Emergency Board ratified at a Jan. 17 meeting. The consensus target remained at $30 million, just above the $29 million target set during the same meeting.
According to a release for May, the state collected $117.3 million in general fund revenues, which was $2.3 million under the monthly consensus cash flow target of $119.6 million. Plus, personal income tax receipts could have improved by $1.5 million, coming under the mark for the fourth consecutive month.
According to a release, health care revenues came in $3.3 million under target and featured a combined $4.1 million decline in insurance tax and net property transfer tax receipts.
According to a release for May, the corporate income tax and the meals and rooms tax were substantial and were $4.9 million over the target. Another $1.7 million was culled in the estate tax, liquor tax, and other taxes.
“The results of that July consensus forecast update and how revenues actually fare over the first half of next fiscal year in a highly uncertain environment will also determine the size and direction of any prospective budget adjustments that may be necessary in January,” Clouser said in a statement.
Author is an Associate Editor of the Center Square publication and a veteran journalist with more than 25 years of experience. He has served as editor of newspapers in Pennsylvania and Texas, and has also worked at newspapers in Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Kentucky.
Categories: News Analysis, State Government
Good data. It should not be forgotten, yet always is, that none of this revenue is earned by the state government. It is earned by the taxpayers and taken by the government. Around 70 percent of your tax dollars go to public education. Using any student performance indicator the taxpayers are being robbed.
It may be time to rethink your revenue stream strategy.
It is only a matter of time before the bubble bursts on the goose that laid the golden egg. The supposed “ haves” do not have infinite elasticity to fund the “ have nots.”
The People’s Republic of Vermont may want to look at its spending policies which can only exasperate the revenues. When the reckoning comes it will not be a pretty end result for the recipients of our current largesse.
I said many times before the real numbers do not lie. The Vermont Legislature, the non-profits, the NGOs, the bureaucrats, the Administration all colluding and gaslighting everyone with lies and deception. The economy is collapsing, the debt is insurmountable, and inflation is rising, not stablizing. The idea that revenue needed to support the behemouth welfare system of Vermont can be squeezed from the working class here is not going to happen. I seriously doubt any of those in the power seats have any idea the implications of their actions. Perhaps look at France, Germany, or Sweden of late for more insight on what is coming to America shortly.
The revenue figures for tourism are generally reflected by the rooms and meals tax, although Vermont residents also pay when buying prepared foods and eating in restaurants. I dont see those numbers listed separately and I have to wonder if the widespread reputation among tourists that many Vermont motels and hotels are being used as flophouses for junkies is negatively affecting tourism. It would be an unfortunate double-whammy if the “motel program” that has been running for years now is not only costing us taxpayers plenty to fund but is also diminishing tourism revenue.
Ah yes, the Dems and Progs have of late, done a ton of counting revenue chickens before they hatch. And if they don’t all hatch?
the dep of ed is the bigest expence start cutting there.
Sorry Armand, They won’t cut anything. As long as the voters choose the Dem/Prog party to run things we are screwed. The voters, 240,000 of them voted to show how virtuous they are with everyone’s money. The only problem is that working people are being bled dry. The same people voting for this are feeling the pinch too. Will they wake up? Probably not. 112,000 people didn’t vote for this, I was one of them. I think it past time to move to NH, Live Free or Die. In Vermont it’s, You will never be free until you die!