STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today projected the state will end the 2006 fiscal year with a budget surplus of $536.8 million.

The estimated surplus - based on an annual budget of $15.2 billion - rose by $209 million in the last month. The increase was due to a continued rise in collections of the personal income tax tied to investments and of the taxes corporations pay on their profits.

Other tax categories contributing to the surplus are the profit taxes paid by oil companies, the real-estate conveyance tax and the inheritance tax.

Wyman's projection is $25 million higher than that of the Governor's budget office. But she also noted that her estimates factor in an anticipated economic slowdown in the second half of the fiscal year, which ends June 30.

"While I am optimistic about the continued strength of revenues in the near-term, my estimate is a conservative outlook that accounts for a decline in growth in the coming months," Wyman said.

Connecticut's economy often mirrors national trends, and the national economy grew by only 1.1 percent in the final quarter of 2005 - the slowest quarterly rate since 2001. The state also has added just 5,000 payroll jobs this fiscal year, well below last year's pace, Wyman said, noting that the job-growth numbers do not include any layoffs incurred in the past month.

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

Learn more about the Connecticut Comptroller's Office by calling up our Internet Home Page, at the link below.

Back to Comptroller's Home Page
Back to Index of Comptroller's Press Releases