newjerseynewsroom.com

March flooding threw off collections

The amount of tax revenue collected by the state government so far this year is $267.1 million or 1.1 percent less than expected, Treasurer Andrew P. Sidamon-Eristoff announced Thursday.

Revenue collections for May alone exceeded forecasts by 12.2 percent, Sidamon-Eristoff said but the budget forecast for the month was not adjusted to reflect extended deadlines for the filing of tax returns and payments by New Jersey wage earners affected by March floods.

"May 2010 was unique because a declaration of emergency in 15 counties allowed filers to delay their April tax payments by one month," Sidamon-Eristoff said. "Collections were significantly higher than in a typical May because of the deadline extension."

Income tax collections totaled $784.9 million in May, 60 percent higher than the figures projected in March.

Income tax collections in April, usually the most lucrative month of the year for revenue collections, were 26 percent below forecasts. Taking April and May together, total income tax collections were $2.41 billion, or 9.9% below projections.

"Taken together, April and May revenue collections show that New Jersey's economy is still fragile, and that the adjustments we have made to the state budget over the last six months were both necessary and timely," Sidamon-Eristoff said.

For the year to date, income tax collections are 2.2 percent below revised forecasts, sales taxes are 0.9 percent behind forecasts and corporate business tax collections are underperforming by 5.3 percent.

"The Department of Treasury, working with the governor's office, took steps to ensure that the state ends fiscal 2010 with its budget in balance," Sidamon-Eristoff said. "We will continue to monitor state finances and adjust as needed to the realities of a volatile economy."

— TOM HESTER SR., NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM