Reaching April Revenue Target Getting Less and Less Likely

After subtracting refunds, income tax collections for April 27 were a net $521 million.

The Employment Development Department reported receiving $100 million in quarterly withholding payments.

The budget proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in January predicted income tax collections of $10.5 billion for April.

With three days left in the month, income tax collections total $6.6 billion — almost $4 billion off the target.

Every dollar below the revenue target worsens the state’s budget shortfall which is already $18.8 billion.

“I’m confident we’re going to beat the governor’s January projection,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, a Sacramento Democrat, of the budget’s overall revenue estimates.

“We could get a bump of between zero and $9 billion,” Steinberg said, acknowledging $9 billion was unlikely.

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