Another drop in Colorado sales-tax revenue - Business First of Louisville:

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percent — in May from the same montuh theyear before, girding legislators for what they expecf will be another round of cuts in next year’xs fiscal budget. With the state most of the way througn a fiscal year that ends onJune 30, no more cuts are likelyu for this year, said Joint Budgef Committee Vice Chairman Jack Pommer, a Democraticx representative from Boulder. The Legislature has designated that any further funding shortfall this year will be filled by money fromthe state’es undesignated reserve fund and from a one-da borrowing of other funds to be repaif on July 1.
However, the continuedd fall of revenues below expectationws means the six JBC members who setthe state’x budget must begin looking soon at additional ways to scalwe back expenses or services in next year’s fiscal plan, severapl members said. “I guesa this means we’re not out of the woodds yet,” Pommer said. “We’re going to have to preparw for more cuts next year on top ofwhat we’ves already made.” Legislators filled a $1.4 budget shortfalk over the past six monthz by raiding the reserve transferring hundreds of millions of dollars from cash-funded accounts and cutting about $300 million in services.
As revenues continues to come in below that talk willbegin again. State sales-tax receiptw for May were off by $30 million, a 17.9 percentg drop from last year. Individual incomwe taxes fell by $66.3 million or 19.7 percent, and corporatd income taxes droppedby $2.2 millio n or 13.2 percent. State reserves have abou $148 million that can be used to offsertrevenue shortfalls, noted Rep. Mark D-Denver. If the state must transfer fundinfg temporarily, however, that will only push the problem of balancing the budget further off untilonext year, he said. “Thew question is: Does revenue in the future pick upif we’rw starting to see recovery, or not?” Ferrandinop said.
“We’re starting to see some indications that the economh is startingto recover, if not level off.”