October 2005 cash report

[Night Owl]

October 2005 cash report.

With seven months of the State’s 2005-06 fiscal year now complete, General Fund receipts (including transfers) were $2.7 billion or 11.4 percent ahead of last year. All Funds receipts also were robust: $4.9 billion or 9.1 percent ahead of last year. The State continues to be well positioned to end the fiscal year with a notable surplus.

General Fund receipts are approximately equal to what the October 30 , 2005 Mid-Year Financial Plan Update had projected for the first seven months of the fiscal year. The update was based on six months of actual results, so only one of the seven months is estimated.

The General Fund closing cash balance on October 31 , 2005, was $4.4 billion, which is $152 million or 3.6 percent higher than projected by the 2005-06 Financial Plan updated October 30, 2005 . Again, this seven-month estimate is based on six months of actual results. Again, this may be an indication that the State could end the current fiscal year in better financial shape than expected.

General Fund disbursements (including transfers) were $808.2 million or 3.4 percent higher than during the first seven months of last fiscal year. A ll Funds disbursements were $ 1.9 billion or 3.5 percent higher than last year.

Actual General Fund disbursements through October 2005 of $24.8 billion is near the Financial Plan estimate. The Financial Plan does not project All Funds disbursements or receipts by month.

Following several calls for reform from Comptroller Hevesi, with the enactment of the 2005-06 budget, all revenues and most disbursements pursuant to the Health Care Reform Act (HCRA) are now accounted for within State funds. Appended to the attached cash report are schedules of HCRA receipts and disbursements by major object of expense and program.


General Fund Receipts and Disbursements
Personal income tax collections (before accounting transactions) were up $2.2 billion or 14.7 percent from last year. This increase is driven by estimated payments, which were $1.6 billion higher through October 2005 than through October 2004, representing a 37.1 percent increase.

Consumption/use tax receipts in the first seven months of the fiscal year stayed basically flat, falling 0.2 percent, or $10.8 million, from last year. Business tax receipts, however, rose by 33.3 percent, from $1.9 billion in the first seven months of 2004-05 to $2.5 billion in the same period of 2005-06. The largest of the business taxes is the corporate franchise tax, which rose from $844.3 million last year to $ 1.4 billion this year, a 65.9 percent increase. Business tax receipts rose because of both increased corporate earnings and higher collections through audits conducted by the Department of Taxation and Finance.

In comparison to the 2005-06 Financial Plan revised October 30, General Fund tax receipts for the first seven months of the fiscal year were essentially on target with expectations, with actual results slightly ahead of plan, by $92 million.

On the disbursement side, General Fund Local Assistance payments were 0.1 percent, or $ 8.3 million, lower than last year. This masks several increases and decreases within the categories of Local Assistance. Social Services spending remains lower through October 2005 than through October 2004 for two reasons. First, an additional Medicaid cycle payment was made in April 2004 that had no comparable payment in April 2005 and, second, General Fund Medicaid spending in 2005-06 was offset by spending from several Special Revenue Funds.

Education spending is up 6.6 percent, from $6.7 billion to $7.2 billion, largely from increased state aid payments made in support of public schools .

While Department Operations spending rose 8.9 percent, or $429.3 million, General State Charges increased $420.6 million, to $2.9 billion through October 2005. Spending in this category reflects the increased cost of state employees’ health insurance premiums along with the reduced maximum amortization credit in the State’s required annual payment to the New York State and Local Employees Retirement System and is on target with the Financial Plan.

General Fund transfers to other funds were $33.4 million low er this year than last, a de crease of 2.2 percent.



Total Governmental Receipts and Disbursements

Total governmental receipts in the current fiscal year increased $4.9 billion or 9.1 percent from the first seven months of fiscal 2004-05. The largest share of this increase is personal income tax revenues which, as noted above, are significantly stronger this year than last.

Consumption/use taxes rose by $471.2 million or 6.2 percent. This increase reflects additional cigarette tax collections now coming on budget as related to new HCRA accounting practices. Cigarette tax collections through October 2004 totaled $603.3 million, of which only $249.9 million was counted as a State revenue (the other $353.4 million was transferred to the HCRA pools). In the current fiscal year, all cigarette tax revenues – equal to $604.4 million through October 31 , 2005 – are deposited in State funds.

Business taxes also contributed to the higher receipts, increasing $743.8 million or 26.6 percent. The trend in total governmental receipts mirrors the trend in the General Fund: corporate franchise tax receipts were 66.8 percent above last year, an increase of $641.4 million.

Other taxes increased $285.8 million or 32.5 percent. The two biggest taxes within this category are the estate and gift tax – which increased $146.9 million to $546.8 million, or 36.7 percent – and the real estate transfer tax, which rose from $ 461.4 million to $ 602.2 million, or 30.5 percent.

Miscellaneous receipts also contributed to the increased receipts: $1.0 billion or 12.4 percent higher this year than last. This increase reflects the newly on-budget accounting of HCRA resources and $754 million attributed to the proceeds from the Empire c onversion. Federal grants increased $203.2 million or 1.0 percent.

Total governmental funds disbursements rose 3.5 percent to $55.9 billion for the first seven months of the fiscal year. All local assistance grants rose 2.2 percent, or $831.1 million. Department Operations rose 4.0 percent, or $357.4 million. General State Charges increased 15.0 percent, or $427.9 million. Spending on debt service payments decreased $56.5 million or 3.0 percent, due largely to refundings, and spending on capital projects increased $339.2 million, or 15.0 percent.

More: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/finance/f.../october05.pdf

[Cgoodsp466]

Originally posted by Night Owl

And your point is what? That the facist NY Goverment took in some money.