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NEWS from the Office of the New York State Comptroller
Contact: Press Office 518-474-4015

DiNapoli Releases February State Cash Report

March 31, 2016

New York state is on target to reach year-end revenue projections with collections of $67.8 billion in taxes through the first 11 months of the fiscal year, an increase of 6.3 percent, or $4 billion, from the same period a year ago, according to the monthly state cash report issued today by New York State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

March tax collections only have to grow less than one-percent to $7.3 billion for receipts to hit the Division of the Budget’s (DOB) projections, which is expected.

“New York’s improved fiscal position, thanks to financial settlements and personal income tax gains, provides an opportunity to move the state toward real structural balance going forward,” DiNapoli said.

The state spent $127.8 billion through the first 11 months of the fiscal year, $277 million below the latest projections and $5.8 billion higher than last year for the same period. Year-to-date spending growth has come primarily from Medicaid and other public health costs as well as education.

Year-to-date tax collections of $67.8 billion were $81 million over DOB’s latest estimate and $1.1 billion over initial projections from the Enacted Budget Financial Plan, primarily due to higher than projected Personal Income Tax (PIT) collections.

The General Fund ended February with a balance of $14.3 billion, which was nearly $677 million higher than the latest projection and nearly $3.1 billion (27.8 percent) higher than last February 28. This unusually high balance is due largely to strong settlement dollars and PIT collections.

For a detailed breakdown, go to http://www.osc.state.ny.us/finance/cbr.htm

DiNapoli's office issues a state cash report every month identifying state revenues and spending. The cash report focuses primarily on the General Fund and All Governmental Funds. The General Fund is the major operating fund of the state. All Governmental Funds includes General, Special Revenue, Debt Service and Capital Projects funds, as well as funds from the federal government. The report is now accessible in Excel and Adobe formats.

Since becoming Comptroller, DiNapoli has created several tools to allow the public to better track government spending, contracts and other fiscal issues. These are easily accessible on his transparency website called Open Book New York (www.openbooknewyork.com).