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

DiNapoli Releases October State Cash Report

November 18, 2016

State tax collections totaled nearly $41.6 billion through October, a drop of $764.1 million, or 1.8 percent, from the same period last year, largely due to lagging personal income tax receipts, according to the state cash report issued today by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli. However, tax collections of $4.7 billion in October were 13.8 percent higher than those of October 2015 due to large audit payments made under the bank tax as well as increased sales tax collections.

Tax collections for the first seven months of the fiscal year were $220.7 million below initial projections from May, but $57.3 million higher than projections included in the Mid-Year Update to the Financial Plan, issued by the state Division of the Budget (DOB) on Nov. 14. Collections for personal income tax (PIT) through October were $960 million below initial projections. DOB again reduced projections for PIT in the Mid-Year Update.

"With personal income taxes falling far short of initial projections, the state Division of the Budget appropriately revised its outlook,” DiNapoli said. “We will be closely watching tax collections from the upcoming holiday shopping season and the level of bonuses paid in the financial sector during the remainder of the fiscal year.”

Since the start of the fiscal year in April, All Funds receipts reached $85.1 billion, an increase of $157.6 million, or 0.2 percent, from a year earlier. Total receipts exceeded Enacted Budget Financial Plan projections by $267.8 million and Mid-Year projections by $246.8 million.

All Funds spending reached $83.6 billion through the first seven months of the fiscal year, approximately $4 billion, or 5.1 percent, higher than last year for the same period. Significant increases include spending for public health programs (up $1.4 billion largely because of payments for the Essential Plan Program) and Medicaid (up $1.6 billion primarily from federal sources).

The General Fund ended October with a balance of $8.9 billion, which was $702.4 million lower than Enacted Budget projections, $46.6 million higher than the latest projections, and nearly $2.5 billion lower than a year earlier.

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 from the prior month. 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).