Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Butch Eley this week announced that revenues for June were $1.5 billion, which is $12.5 million less than the budgeted monthly revenue estimate.
State tax revenues, meanwhile, were $29.8 million less than June 2019. Overall collections for the month represented a negative growth rate of 1.91 percent.
This, according to a press release that Eley posted on the F&A’s website.
“Tennesseans are cautiously increasing business and consumer activities as we move forward in an unprecedented environment,” Eley said.
“We anticipated a slow recovery from April, when everyone was staying at home, but it’s too early to identify any patterns in revenue collections. It should be noted that a sizable percentage of June revenue receipts are supported by a shift in tax burden from business, privilege and motor vehicle registration tax payments which were delayed to help provide support during the early phases of the pandemic. The state will not know the full impact of the pandemic on fiscal year 2020 until the close of the fiscal year next month when corporate tax and Hall income tax filings are due.”
Regardless of economic conditions, Eley said that F&A will ensure that the state continues to plan for the worst while hoping for the best while making sure Tennesseans continue to receive the services they need.
On an accrual basis, June is the eleventh month in the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
“General fund revenues were greater than the budgeted estimates in the amount of $6.3 million, while the four other funds that share in state tax revenues were $18.8 million less than the estimates. Sales tax revenues were $13.7 million less than the estimate for June and they were 1.27 percent less than June 2019. June sales tax revenues reflect retail business activity that occurred in May. For 11 months, revenues are $56.4 million higher than estimated. The year-to-date growth rate for eleven months is 2.57 percent,” according to the F&A press release.
“Franchise and excise tax revenues combined were $40.5 million lower than the June budget estimate and the growth rate was negative 12.72 percent. For eleven months, revenues are $292 million less than the estimate and the year-to-date growth rate is negative 15.69 percent. Gasoline and motor fuel revenues for June decreased by 10.24 percent compared to June 2019, and they were $16.3 million less than the budgeted estimate of $109 million. For eleven months, revenues have fallen behind estimates by $15.8 million.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
This isn’t news. Even Ray Charles could have seen this story coming…and he’s not even alive.
Gee. Who could have seen this coming?