Alarm bell on state’s econ

ALBANY — New York faces a “triple threat” of fiscal woes that threaten to blow a hole in the state’s budget, Controller Thomas DiNapoli warned Tuesday.

DiNapoli’s office reported that state tax collections during the first six months of the fiscal year were $386.6 million below projections and 2.1% below the same period from a year ago.

The declining revenues, combined with looming cuts to federal aid and an already-projected budget gap of $4.1 billion for the 2018-19 fiscal year, pose “serious” challenges to the state in the coming months, DiNapoli said.

“Projected budget gaps, weaker than expected personal income tax collections and cuts to federal programs combine for a triple threat of budgetary risks,” DiNapoli said. “Any federal funding reductions not already assumed in the financial plan could force difficult decisions regarding the funding of important programs and services.”

Through September, personal income tax collections totaled nearly $22.2 billion, a 5.6% decline from the same period a year ago and $371.3 million below the state’s most recent projections.

DiNapoli warned that if tax receipts continue to fall below projections, the budget gap could grow larger.