Tax day is a big payday for state
April is expected to reap a huge surge of income tax revenue to bolster state budget.
More than $1 billion in payments are expected to help balance California’s books.
SACRAMENTO — As Californians rush to file their personal income taxes before a midnight deadline, budget writers in Sacramento were expecting more than $1 billion in payments on Tuesday to help balance the state’s books.
Gov. Jerry Brown’s budget team has projected a total of $14 billion in income tax revenues this month, a slight uptick from actual returns in April of last year. An analysis by the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office shows that total collections for the month are running about 10% above the same time last year.
The final totals as of April 30 are crucial to crafting both Brown’s revised budget plan, which will be presented to the Legislature next month, and the final plan lawmakers must put in place by June 30.
Tax revenues for the current fiscal year — combining sales and corporate taxes along with those paid by individuals — were about $780 million higher than the governor’s estimates through the end of March, the analyst’s office report said. Lawmakers and Brown often spar over whose tax revenue predictions to use when crafting a spending plan, a debate the governor has consistently won since returning to office in 2011.
Data from the state controller’s office show that on Tax Day i 2016, the state collected $1.5 billion in income taxes. Although taxes collected in other months are also important in building state budgets — notably June and September as quarterly taxes are paid — April remains perhaps the best indicator of the fiscal road ahead.
Brown’s January budget plan projected a $1.6-billion deficit, with proposals to resolve the shortfall including the cancellation of some 2016 spending plans and slower funding growth for California schools.