California tax revenue dips below expectations
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Just a month into the new fiscal year, California tax revenue has slipped almost $400 million below expectations set by Gov. Jerry Brown’s administration.
The state pulled in just over $5 billion in July, less than its $5.4-billion goal, according to a report released Friday. The main problem was lower-than-expected income taxes, the single largest source of state revenue.
Brown’s Department of Finance blamed about half the shortfall on bad timing. In particular, revenue from tribal casinos has been slow to trickle in, and administration officials expect to make up the difference in the next few months.
July is typically a weak month for taxes, but the results still caused some dismay in Sacramento.
‘Revenue collections were disappointing for the month of July,’ said state Controller John Chiang in a statement earlier this week. He said, however, that California will continue to be able to pay its bills on time.
The state is facing other budget risks this year. Facebook’s debut on Wall Street was expected to pump $1.9 billion into the state’s coffers by the end of next June. But the stock has dropped to almost half the estimated $35 share price the Brown administration used to calculate revenue.
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-- Chris Megerian in Sacramento
