State fiscal picture stable, according to comptroller report
ALBANY - Tax collections were $18 million below updated projections during July, but receipts since the start of the fiscal year were 13.3 percent higher than last year because of strong personal income tax (PIT) receipts in April, according to the July cash report released today by New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli. July tax collections were 5.2 percent higher than last year, largely from an additional collection day for PIT withholding this month.
"Results through the first four months of the year are good compared to last year and that is a positive," DiNapoli said. “However, most of the growth came in April. The latest numbers confirm our expectation that such strong gains would not continue though receipts from sales tax and business taxes remain strong. We have received more than $250 million in settlement dollars that were not anticipated in the Enacted Budget, but the slow pace of economic growth calls for continued caution.”
All Funds tax collections increased 13.3 percent to $23.5 billion through the first four months of SFY 2013-14, primarily due to growth in PIT collections. PIT collections grew 17.7 percent with almost 90 percent of the growth from estimated tax collections from April. Withholding collections, taxes that are paid directly from paychecks and the state’s second largest revenue source after federal receipts, increased 4.8 percent through July, largely because of the additional collection day that month.
Miscellaneous receipts totaled $7.1 billion through July, $511.3 million higher than collections during the same period last year. This includes a $250 million settlement from Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ and a $250 million transfer from the State Insurance Fund. Federal receipts increased 18.4 percent, primarily due to disaster assistance spending.
http://www.empirestatenews.net/News/20130819-1.html