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.
Craig Carpenter is the chief executive officer at X1. Craig has 20 years of experience as a CEO, COO, CRO, CMO and general counsel in the eDiscovery, compliance and cybersecurity spaces.
Prior to X1, Craig was the CEO of Fronteo (NASDAQ: FTEO), before which he was SVP of sales at Kroll Ontrack until its acquisition by the Carlyle Group. Prior to Kroll Ontrack, Craig was CMO and then COO at AccessData, before which Craig spent seven years as the VP of marketing and business development and general counsel at Recommind prior to its acquisition by Open Text (NASDAQ: OTEX). Before Recommind, Craig ran global marketing and channel teams at Fortinet (NASDAQ: FTNT) prior to its IPO and at Mirapoint prior to its acquisition by Openwave (NASDAQ:SNCR).
Craig began his career as a practicing attorney at Ropers, Majeski, Kohn & Bentley in Silicon Valley. Craig has a JD and MBA from Santa Clara University and BAs in Political Science and History from UCLA where he played football and rowed crew.
Peter Ku is vice president and chief industry strategist - financial services, at Informatica.
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.