U.S. states saw their tax revenue drop by about $31 billion, or 6 percent, from March through August, compared to the same period a year earlier, as the pandemic triggered economic shutdowns across the country, according to data from 44 states compiled by the Urban Institute.
The scale of the drop appears smaller than expected, relative to the depth of the economic contraction, and comes after several states have reported that their revenue didn’t decline as much as anticipated despite business shutdowns and increased unemployment. In August, when much of the country was reopening, state revenue climbed about 1.1 percent from a year earlier, the Urban Institute found.
SaVion Harris joined Intercontinental Wealth Advisors as a financial advisor in the summer of 2021 after graduating from the University of Texas at San Antonio with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance. During his time at UTSA, he was a student-athlete as a member of the football team and had dreams of playing in the NFL. He currently helps manage client assets, working to truly understand clients’ situations, goals, and dreams — helping them envision their future and then take the steps to make it a reality. He has attained his Texas Life Insurance license as well as his Series 65 Uniform Investment Adviser Law license.
Maggie Z. Miller and Hannah Nokes are co-founders of Magnify Impact, and co-authors of Magnify Your Impact: Powering Profit with Purpose.
Colin Nabity is the CEO & co-founder of Breeze, an insurtech with a mission to close the income protection gap through disability insurance and critical illness insurance.
The tax figures come as Republicans in Washington balk at extending aid to states and cities to help cover budget deficits that are expected to continue as the coronavirus weighs on the economy. Experts say that states’ financial outlooks could worsen as the effects of the stimulus bill fade and high unemployment reduces tax bills next year.
The August increase should be viewed with caution since income-tax deadlines were pushed back to July, which could have resulted in some revenue being processed later, according to Lucy Dadayan, senior research associate with the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center at the Urban Institute. Personal income-tax collections, which rose 3.8 percent in August, were in some cases supported by backlogged unemployment insurance benefits subject to withholding tax, Dadayan said.
Between March and August, tax revenues fell 6.4 percent year over year, with 36 states reporting declines over that period, the report said. Between March and August, eight states, including Washington and Georgia, reported growth in tax revenue.
“Due to the shifting in timing of tax receipts this past year, it is crucial to view August year-over-year revenue gains and fiscal year to date data with caution,” Dadayan said in the report.