The Governor, joined by Comptroller DiNapoli, held a
press conference this week to announce that revenue collections had fallen far short of original projections, creating a massive $2.3 billion gap in this year’s budget. The Governor stated that a significant drop in personal income tax (PIT) receipts were the cause of the shortfall, blaming the federal cap on SALT deductions for the loss of revenue. Comptroller DiNapoli called the situation “the most serious revenue shock the state has faced in many years.” The news comes as lawmakers in the Senate and Assembly begin the early stages of creating their own budget proposals to counter the Executive. With such a large shortfall in revenues, it will be difficult for the legislature to be able to spend in excess of the executive on areas like education and makes removing revenue actions like recreational marijuana more difficult than before. Both examples have been suggested by Speaker Heastie as recently as last week. In addition, later in the week, New York City officials also
announced their own shortfall in PIT receipts to the tune of $300 million.
