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State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi today released the December 2005 cash report.
With three-quarters of the State’s 2005-06 fiscal year now complete, General Fund receipts (including transfers) were $2.5 billion or 8.1 percent ahead of last year, while General Fund disbursements (including transfers) were $1.6 billion or 5.5 percent higher than last year.
The State continues to be well positioned to end the fiscal year with a significant surplus. The General Fund closing cash balance of $3.6 billion is $198 million or 5.9 percent higher than was projected in the October 30, 2005 Mid-Year Financial Plan Update. This balance excludes $106.9 million set aside in the School Tax Relief Fund in excess of payments made in December 2005.
General Fund receipts (including transfers) of $32.8 billion are slightly less than the updated financial plan estimate of $33.2 billion, approximately $378 million or 1.1 percent lower than the estimate. General Fund disbursements (including transfers) were also lower than projected: $31.8 billion was actually disbursed in the first nine months of this fiscal year, compared to a projected disbursement of $32.3 billion, a difference of $575 million or 1.8 percent.
All Governmental Fund receipts of $75.8 billion through the end of December were also very robust: $3.2 billion or 4.4 percent ahead of last year. All Governmental Fund disbursements of $74.7 billion were $1.6 billion or 2.1 percent higher than last year. The Financial Plan does not project All Funds disbursements or receipts by month, so comparisons to budgeted amounts are not possible.
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 $2.0 billion or 10.2 percent from last year. This increase is driven by estimated payments, which were $1.4 billion higher through December 2005 than through December 2004, representing a 25.4 percent increase.
Consumption/use tax receipts in the first nine months of the fiscal year stayed flat compared to last year, at $6.6 billion. Business tax receipts, however, rose by 28.6 percent, from $2.7 billion in the first nine months of 2004-05 to $3.5 billion in the same period of 2005-06. The largest of the business taxes is the corporate franchise tax, which rose from $1.2 billion last year to $1.8 billion this year, a 50.9 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 nine months of the fiscal year were nearly on target with expectations, with actual results of $24.5 billion slightly below the estimate of $24.7 billion, a difference of $166 million or 0.7 percent.
On the disbursement side, General Fund Local Assistance payments were 4.4 percent, or $826 million, higher than last year. This masks several increases and decreases within the categories of Local Assistance. Education spending is still the largest increase: $797.3 million or 9.4 percent higher than last year, largely from increased state aid payments made in support of public schools, while public health spending (in the Health & Environment category) decreased $105.9 million, or 25.3 percent. According to the Department of Health, this decrease in spending is due the fact that counties are submitting public health work claims to the Department at a slower pace in this fiscal year as compared to last year.
Department Operations spending increased 5.8 percent to $6.6 billion, while General State Charges rose from $3.0 billion to $3.3 billion, an increase of $389 million or 13.2 percent. Spending in this category reflects a projected 9.1 percent increase in the 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, which is on target with Financial Plan assumptions.
General Fund transfers to other funds were slightly higher this year than last, increasing 3.2 percent from $2.2 billion to $2.3 billion.
Total Governmental Receipts and Disbursements
Total governmental receipts in the current fiscal year were $75.8 billion, an increase of $3.2 billion or 4.4 percent from the first nine months of fiscal 2004-05. More than half of this increase is from personal income tax revenues which, as noted above, are significantly stronger this year than last.
Consumption/use taxes rose by $561 million or 5.6 percent. Nearly this entire increase is due to additional cigarette tax collections now coming on budget as related to new HCRA accounting practices. Cigarette tax collections through December 2004 totaled $768.5 million, of which only $318.7 million was counted as a State revenue (the other $449.8 million was transferred to the HCRA pools). In the current fiscal year, all cigarette tax revenues – equal to $769.6 million through December 31, 2005 – are deposited in State funds.
Business taxes also contributed to the higher receipts, increasing $942 million or 23.8 percent. The trend in total governmental receipts mirrors the trend in the General Fund: corporate franchise tax receipts were 52.0 percent above last year, an increase of $721.3 million.
Other taxes increased $346 million or 30.7 percent. The two biggest taxes within this category are the estate and gift tax – which increased $163 million to $688 million, or 31.0 percent – and the real estate transfer tax, which rose from $580 million to $764 million, or 31.9 percent.
Miscellaneous receipts grew from $11.3 billion to $11.8 billion, an increase of 3.9 percent. This increase reflects the newly on-budget accounting of HCRA resources and $754 million attributed to the proceeds from the Empire conversion, offset by certain non-recurring receipts received in 2004-05.
Federal grants decreased 4.1 percent, from $26.9 billion to $25.8 billion primarily as a result of the non-recurring receipt in December 2004 of $1.0 billion to establish insurance coverage for long-term health costs of the World Trade Center clean-up. A second factor is the expiration of the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) Medicaid rate adjustment, which dropped from 52.9 percent to 50.0 percent on July 1, 2004.
Total governmental funds disbursements rose 2.1 percent or $1.6 billion for the first nine months of the fiscal year, for a total of $74.7 billion. All local assistance grants rose 0.6 percent, or $338 million. Department Operations rose 4.3 percent, or $504 million. General State Charges increased 12.1 percent, or $420 million. Spending on debt service payments decreased $98 million or 3.6 percent, due largely to refundings, and spending on capital projects increased $390 million, or 13.1 percent.
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Personal income tax collections (before accounting transactions) were up $2.0 billion or 10.2 percent from last year. This increase is driven by estimated payments, which were $1.4 billion higher through December 2005 than through December 2004, representing a 25.4 percent increase.
Oh Goody!
Their keeping more of my money and growing the government!
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