Though
state tax collections exceeded January’s estimate, officials weren’t ready to
declare an economic turn around.
Tax
revenues brought in approximately $391 million last month, some $8 million
above projections. Yet state Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow said the
uptick in collections was largely a “technical issue” as the state remained $73
million below estimates for the fiscal year.
State
Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss said Monday the current state budget may require
more cuts or a midyear search for additional revenue.
“There
may be a need for more action,” Kiss said.
Gov.
Earl Ray Tomblin ordered a hiring freeze last month and reduced state spending
in some agencies. The legislature has also been asked to appropriate one-time
revenues.
“We
may need to revisit that, yes,” Kiss said.
The
major drag on collections this year has been the personal income tax
category, which shows a current shortfall of $61.6 million. The consumer sales
and use tax ended January with a shortfall of $14.2 million.
“Everything
else put together is pretty close to being on estimate,” Muchow said.
There
are five months remaining in the fiscal year and Muchow said natural gas
production will be a big key heading forward.
“We’ve
seen things slow down recently,” Muchow said, “(but) with improvements in
natural gas production and maybe a more stable coal environment, hopefully
we’ll have a little gain on the severance tax side.”
Kiss
was cautious about January’s revenue numbers improving over December.
“I
still don’t think we’ve turned the curve that we keep hoping to turn,” he said.
“We continue to see, I think, some significant challenges for the current
fiscal year.”
Kiss
predicted the state would not have a problem providing timely state income tax
refunds, thanks of a bill in front of the legislature that would allow money to
be taken out of the state’s Rainy Day fund.
“If
that legislation passes I don’t anticipate refunds are going to be a problem,”
Kiss said.
