State tax receipts in November were higher than expected by the Division of the Budget (DOB), but collections through the first eight months of the state fiscal year were $3 billion lower than last year, according to the monthly State Cash Report released by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.
Tax receipts in the month of November totaled $4.3 billion, $52.5 million above last year and $806.7 million higher than the projection in DOB’s State Fiscal Year 2021 Mid-Year Update, issued Oct. 30. Tax receipts from the start of the state’s fiscal year in April through November were $374.6 million above DOB’s latest projections.
“With ongoing economic challenges, we continue to expect a multi-billion-dollar shortfall in state tax revenues for the fiscal year despite the November numbers,” DiNapoli said. “If leaders in Washington cannot reach agreement on help for state and local governments this week, it must be at the top of the agenda for quick action in the new year.”
Personal income tax receipts in November were $105.4 million, or 4.3 percent, above 2019, due to higher withholding and lower refunds. Sales tax receipts were $83.8 million or 6.7 percent lower than a year earlier.
State Operating Funds spending through the first eight months of the fiscal year totaled $55.8 billion, which was $7.8 billion, or 12.2 percent, lower than last year. This is primarily due to higher federal reimbursement for Medicaid spending, as well as over $2.6 billion in withheld local assistance and other payments.
As of Nov. 30, the General Fund held a balance of $13.6 billion, $368.3 million lower than DOB projections, and $7 billion higher than last year at the same time. The higher balance is driven partly by receipts from short-term borrowing that DOB anticipates repaying before the end of the fiscal year. On Dec. 15, the state repaid $1 billion of that borrowing; the remaining $3.4 billion is due by March.
