State tax receipts down 7.5 percent overall

The non-partisan Legislative Services Agency has released a report on state tax revenue through the end of February.  This is crucial information, as it will be used by the three-member State Revenue Estimating Conference in less than two weeks when that group meets March 11 to recalibrates its estimate of state tax revenue for the year.

In comparing February 2009 to February 2010, personal income tax payments to the state were down 7.2 percent and sales tax receipts were down 9.8 percent.  There was a slight “timing” issue on payments to the state which ever-so-slightly inflated the decline, but there was still a significant decline in both tax areas when that issue is calculated.

UPDATE:  Jeff Robinson, a Legislative Services Agency analysis, says the actual decline for the first eight months is something closer to the range of 6.5 percent.   And here’s a bit more explanation of the “timing” issue:  the last two days of February fell on a weekend, so about $32 million in tax payments which would have been deposited to the state on a weekday were not deposited until today.   Read more about what Robinson had to say here. 

For those of you keeping score at home, the three-member Revenue Estimating Conference had predicted revenues would be down 8.5 percent.