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State revenue for July fell $11.8 million below projections, the third straight month of red ink for the state, according to Capitol News Service.
Mike Allen, research director at Maine Revenue Services, told the Legislature's Appropriations Committee yesterday that income and sales taxes are drastically lower than last year, and since 1975, the state has not "had a 12-month period where we saw a negative 5% in the sales tax line." State legislators told the news service the revenues for July, though below projections, were better than they had anticipated.
On top of lost revenues, legislators must cut $30 million in the second year of the biennial 2010-2011 budget, as well as offset a $50 million hole in the current budget year that resulted from shifting cash reserves to the budget year that ended June 30, the news service reported. The Appropriations Committee plans to meet more frequently this fall to discuss budget cuts the full Legislature can consider in January.
This news comes as no suprise to those of us who are running a business. Between the financial, economic, and policy uncertainties, businesses are not investing and consumers are not consuming. So demand continues to soften.
Public companies are reporting generally increased earnings on lower revenues. They achieve this by reducing both employees and purchases from their vendors who are often small businesses. It seems that small business are experiencing larger reductions in sales then their larger customers. Therefore there is a greater impact on small business than on their larger conunterparts. As long as this continues, tax receipts are going to be down. Small businesses are still straining to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Lawmakers should think about this when considering future spending, regulatory, and tax policy.
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Learn moreThe Giving Guide helps nonprofits have the opportunity to showcase and differentiate their organizations so that businesses better understand how they can contribute to a nonprofit’s mission and work.
Work for ME is a workforce development tool to help Maine’s employers target Maine’s emerging workforce. Work for ME highlights each industry, its impact on Maine’s economy, the jobs available to entry-level workers, the training and education needed to get a career started.
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