Good Budget News: December Cash Collections Up More Than $100 Million

SACRAMENTO – After accounting for timing issues related to sales tax deposits, December’s tax receipts were $103.4 million above estimates contained in the budget for the current fiscal year ending June 30, according to  Controller John Chiang’s monthly cash balance report released January 9.

“While December’s figures were distorted by timing issues, the month’s revenues closely match budget projections and offer further evidence that California’s economy is slowly mending,” said Chiang.

The timing issue is this: While $1 billion of sales tax was deposited into the Board of Equalization’s bank account on December 31, those dollars were not transferred to the state general fund for another two days. Because the controller’s monthly cash report shows general fund balances reported by close of business on December 31, the $1 billion in late-deposited December sales tax dollars will instead appear in January’s report.

Without accounting for this timing issue, total revenues during the month would have been $896.6 million  — 9.6 percent — below monthly estimates.

Personal income taxes in the month of December came in $767.6 million above monthly estimates, nearly 14 percent higher than expected. Corporate taxes were more than 31 percent lower than predicted, almsot $446 million.

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