Arizona is bringing in less money than forecast, and legislative budget analysts are now predicting the state will end the current fiscal year with a $400 million shortfall. That’s compared with the projection of a $10 million surplus when the budget was approved earlier this year.
The main culprit appears to be reduced individual income tax collections; they dropped by more than 27% in the first quarter of the fiscal year.
The numbers came out as part of a meeting Wednesday of the state’s Finance Advisory Committee.
Economist Jim Rounds is a member of that group, and he joined The Show to talk more about what the data mean.