Budget crunch: Ohio $615 million below revenue estimate for year
State revenue is tumbling, led by weakening Ohio income tax collections, and the state budget director is warning lawmakers to prepare for less available money in the upcoming budget.
Income tax collections for March came in $95 million below estimates, or nearly 18 percent, according to the latest figures from the state budget office. That comes on the heels of missing estimates by 27.5 percent in February, and marks the eighth straight month that income revenue has come in below projections.
Sales tax revenue, the state’s primary tax, was off too, coming in about 5 percent below estimates in March — the sixth time this fiscal year that it failed to hit projections.
“For both these taxes, the slowing Ohio economy in calendar year 2016 is clearly a factor, but they appear to have even underperformed what one would expect,” state Budget Director Tim Keen told the Senate Finance Committee today.
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