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 said that a sharp drop in end-of-year income tax payments has increased the 2009 budget deficit to $1.3 billion - a $289 million spike since last month.

The state typically collects about 20% of all total annual income tax receipts in the month of April. But as of April 29, final and estimated tax collections for the month were down by 40% from last year.

The payroll withholding portion of the income tax also dropped by about 14% for the month, driven by job losses that total nearly 60,000 since March 2008. Overall, the income tax is down by about 23% for the fiscal year that ends June 30.

"That means that more than a billion dollars that was budgeted will not be coming into the state coffers," Wyman said. "With the end of the fiscal year approaching and barely a month to go in this legislative session, I urge the General Assembly to deal with this historic shortfall as quickly as possible."

The severe revenue slide also extends to several other major categories, including the:

• Sales tax - down 24%
• Corporation tax - down 22%
• Taxes on oil companies - down 64%
• Real estate conveyance tax - down 52%
• Casino revenue - down 17%

The shortfall, based on an annual $18.4 billion budget, also means that the state will pay out about 20% more in tax refunds than was expected.

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For Immediate Release
May 1, 2009

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