This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, July 5, 2012 - The state of Missouri has ended its 2012 fiscal year with a balanced budget and a possible small surplus. How much of a surplus – or if there really is one -- may not be known until later this summer.
That’s the word from state Budget Director Linda Luebbering in an interview, as she assessed the final numbers for fiscal year 2012, which ended June 30. Under Missouri's constitution, the state cannot amass a deficit and must balance its budget each year.
Overall, the state’s general revenue income from all sources totaled $7.34 billion, up from $7.11 billion for fiscal year 2011. The increase was 3.2 percent, slightly above the percentage needed to guarantee that the 2012 fiscal year ended with a balanced budget.
Still, Luebbering said it will likely be August before her office can pin down whether the 2012 fiscal year actually ended with a slight surplus, and if so, how much.
She noted that the General Assembly last session had failed to approve a tax amnesty measure sought by the Nixon administration, which could have brought in more money. Such a measure would have encouraged the payment of overdue or back taxes by waiving penalties.
June’s revenue numbers weren’t too encouraging since they were up only 1.8 percent compared to June 2011. But Luebbering said the lackluster June performance had been expected, since May had been particularly strong, with state revenue up 12.7 percent.
Luebbering is now focusing primarily on fiscal year 2013, now just a few days old. The budget approved by the General Assembly and signed by Gov. Jay Nixon is based on a growth rate of 3.9 percent.
The needed percentage may be slightly less, she said, if fiscal year 2012 actually did end up with a surplus. But she emphasizes that it’s too soon to tell.
Here's the breakdown of the state's income for June:
Individual income tax collections
Increased 3.8 percent for the year, from $5.63 billion last year to $5.84 billion this year.
Increased 7.6 percent for the month.
Sales and use tax collections
Increased 3.5 percent for the year from $1.81 billion last year to $1.87 billion this year.
Decreased 8.0 percent for the month.
Corporate income and corporate franchise tax collections
Decreased 6.4 percent for the year, from $537.3 million last year to $502.9 million this year.
Increased 14.1 percent for the month.
All other collections
Decreased 14.6 percent for the year, from $466.6 million last year to $398.4 million this year.
Increased 31.0 percent for the month.
Refunds
Decreased 4.4 percent for the year, from $1.34 billion last year to $1.28 billion this year.
Increased 62.6 percent for the month.
