State tax collections up 7% compared to last year
Lawmakers weighing spending demands against available revenues got another morsel of news this week to inform their decisions.
Total tax collections midway through February were $604 million, up $40 million or 7 percent versus the same period last year, Revenue Commissioner Michael Heffernan wrote in a Feb. 21 letter to lawmakers. Fiscal year-to-date, total tax collections through Feb. 15 were $15.265 billion, which is $424 million or 2.9 percent higher than the same period last year.
On the spending side, Gov. Charlie Baker warned lawmakers last summer that they shouldn't override his budget vetoes because their annual budget failed to adequately fund some major spending needs. Lawmakers went ahead and reversed $231 million in spending vetoes and Baker last Friday went back to the General Court with a bill outlining the damage associated with underfunded accounts: about $259 million.
Baker in December came under fire from legislative leaders for unilaterally cutting $98 million from the $39.5 billion budget. Legislative leaders said those cuts were made prematurely and suggested they may restore spending but so far have not revisited Baker's "9C" cuts. Over the objections of Baker and Republican lawmakers, the Legislature in January pushed through an $18 million pay raise package for senior public officials, including themselves.
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