Eight Days to Go and the Tax Revenue Still Far from Targets

While the Franchise Tax Board insists there are still plenty of bags of tax returns to open, April 22 receipts reflected a four-day fall from $699 million on Monday April 19 to $300 million.

Bank and corporations tax collections, which were $68 million on April 19 were $32.2 million April 21, Franchise Tax Board tallies show.

Incomes taxes represent some 50 percent of the state’s general fund. About 17 percent of that total arrives in April.

Every dollar the state takes in below budget estimates, the wider the gap between revenues and spending commitments grows.

Month-to-date, the state has taken in $4.2 billion in income tax and $1.2 billion in bank and corporations taxes.

The budget plan proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January assumes the state will end the month with $10.5 billion in income tax revenue and $1.9 billion in bank and corporations tax revenue.

Schwarzenegger’s Department of Finance counts the quarterly withholding payments toward the $10.5 billion total. They have logged $2.6 billion in withholding payments.

The net total would be reduced by at least $1.6 billion – the amount of refunds filed with the state through April 22.

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