Bad news recently hit the state government, which is already grappling with a two-year, $95 million revenue shortfall, when November sales tax revenue came in short of previous projections.
Finance Commissioner Rebecca Wyke said sales tax collections in November, which are calculated about a month later, came in about $1 million short, according to the Bangor Daily News. Although December receipts have not yet been assessed, Wyke said she does not expect to see signs of recovery during the holiday season based on national studies and anecdotal reports of sales in Maine.
“We know people are hurting from higher energy costs and all of the ripple impacts from that,” Wyke told the paper. “They are not spending to buy things because gasoline and home heating oil costs are up so high.”
