CONNECTICUT COMPTROLLER PROJECTS $44.6M DEFICIT

Hartford — State Comptroller Kevin Lembo says he now expects Connecticut will end the current fiscal year with a $44.6 million deficit, instead of a surplus projected by the governor.

The Democrat said Monday the new projections stem from slow revenue collections from the withholding portion of the personal income tax. That accounts for more than 60 percent of the state’s total income tax receipts.

Lembo’s projection matches estimates from the General Assembly’s nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis. However, Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s budget office predicted on March 20 that the fiscal year will end June 30 with a $22 million operating surplus.

The state’s main spending account is roughly $18 billion.