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.
Bonnie Sinnock is National Mortgage News' Capital Markets Editor at Arizent and has worked for NMN and affiliated publications since 1995. Her previous roles have included assisting in the coordination of origination coverage, technology reporting and chronicling cross-border issues.
Bonnie currently edits and writes about mortgage capital markets topics that include servicing, acquisitions, industry funding sources, securitization and other secondary market sales. Secondary market topics covered include two government-sponsored enterprise loan buyers that the U.S. has been considering spinning off part of in a new and potentially groundbreaking initial public offering.
She also has contributed articles to multiple award-winning Arizent series, including:
- Election Coverage (Finalist, Neal Awards 2025), for her 2024 reporting on the likelihood Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac reform in the second Trump administration
- Online Single-Topic Coverage by a Team (American Society of Business Editors, Regional Bronze 2023), for participating in group reporting about industry layoffs.
- Online Breaking News Coverage (Regional Bronze, Azbees 2021) for contributing to a package of stories on about the initial impact of the pandemic on the mortgage market
- Best News Coverage (Neals 2016) for one of the articles in a package delving into multiple aspects of the transformative TILA/RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule
Other journalistic accomplishments and designations include:
- New York Financial Writers Association member
- Reporter for the NonProfit Times, the Courier News, and the Los Angeles Independent
- Published articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Saginaw News
- Bachelor of Science in Journalism degree from Northwestern University
Twitter: @bcynic
The Trump administration’s $349 billion small-business rescue kicked off Friday surrounded by concerns about its ability to handle an expected flood of applications and deliver enough aid to mom-and-pop firms hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic.
Amanda Albright is a municipal bonds and public finance reporter at Bloomberg News.
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.