AUGUSTA, Maine — After the first six months of the budget year, state revenues edged back into the black, but state officials are cautious as they keep an eye on the increasing cost of energy. Revenues are $8.9 million over projections for this budget year.
“By and large we seem to be tracking the new and revised estimates,” Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett said. “We always carefully watch the price of home heating oil and gasoline and its impact on the sales tax if people find themselves with less disposable income.”
The sales tax is the second largest source of state revenues, with the state projecting it will bring in $962 million by the end of the budget year in June. But Millett notes so far it is barely over projections, just $763,398 or two-tenths of a percent above estimates.
“There is a modest amount of information that would suggest things are starting to turn a little bit,” he said.
Millett said he is reminded of the forecast a few years ago by University of Southern Maine economics professor Charles Colgan that the state’s economy would be “bouncing along the bottom for a few years” and said Colgan’s newest projection is sobering.
“He now is saying we could bounce along on the bottom for eight or nine years,” Millett said.
The individual income tax is also just making estimates and it is the largest source of state revenues, expected to bring in $1.4 billion this year. It is just $279,850 above projections year to date.
“It is the corporate income tax that continues to drive the positive balances as it has since last spring,” Millett said. “That’s even with the reprojection of revenues that was done at the end of November.”
The corporate income tax is $5.6 million above the recently increased estimates. That is 5.4 percent above projections.
“It certainly is good news but I don’t think it will make the job we have to do in this room any easier,” said Rep. Patrick Flood, R-Winthrop, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Appropriations Committee. “As we have seen earlier, revenues could take another dip and we will be back in the red next month.”
He said the committee will wait on next month’s revenue reforecast before finishing any budget bill that will then go before the panel. It is expected there will be a supplemental budget from Gov. Paul LePage in February to deal with budget matters not included in the Medicaid supplemental budget, which the Appropriations Committee is now reviewing, and the savings from the Budget Streamlining Task Force.
Rep. Peggy Rotundo, D-Lewiston, is the Democratic lead on the panel. She said she is still worried about the sales tax revenues that are only slightly over estimates.
“It’s clearly good news in that it is moving in the right direction,” she said. “What I keep looking at from month to month is the sales tax. Because I think that is a real measure of how Maine families are doing.”
Rotundo said it appears to her that Maine families are still struggling and the recession is still taking its toll on many. She said when sales tax revenues start to grow it will be a sign to her that the economy is on the mend.
“And certainly this can change and if we see oil prices spike it will have an impact on state revenues as it has in the past,” she said. “It is still a volatile time for revenues.”
Millett said while most revenue lines are slightly above or below projections, two areas are significantly below after six months. Money collected from fines and penalties owed the state is 7.6 percent below projections and taxes from cigarettes and tobacco are 2.6 percent below estimates.
Hey great news right, but wait. Hasn’t Mr. LePage and crew been shouting, The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Do these people have any idea what they’re doing or saying? Should we believe anything they say?
How about saying this for once Mr. LePage, “Maine is doing great and it’s a great place to visit.” Could it be that you don’t because it would be in conflict with your goal of cutting from the poor and working middle class so that you can continue to give more to your rich friends and political supporters? Hmm…
because Maine isnt’ doing great – “just getting into the black” isn’t a windfall…. keep relaxing
If the only thing that’s gonna come out of Mr. LePage’s mouth are lies/misinformation, wouldn’t it be better if he were lying to folks from away to attract some businesses or tourist to our fine State rather than constantly lying to us the people paying his and his daughter’s salaries?
You mean businesses like a certain emerging aircraft manufacturer with 600 jobs?
My sentiments exactly. It doesn’t seem like anyone knows what’s going on from one minute to the next.
Broken records are thrown out. Remember the Big Bad Wolf story don’t you?
And the three previous posters all know that the worst thing for a Tea Party Republican, the worst thing that can happen politically and economically, is positiveness and a potential for growth.
If the numbers are in the black…..how can chaos and crisis be legitimized?
Iwas about to reply to your comment but realized I’m a few years late. Enjoy the windfall.
windfall? what windfall? I hope that those banks in Maine who got bailout money and haven’t paid it back are enjoying their windfall! (Or should I say, the executives are enjoying their windfalls).
Do you understand that this governor signed into law where teachers and public employees have to participate in “shared sacrifice” and contribute an additional 2% into their pension account, relieving the state burden…..But exempted himself?? It was his bill!
Enjoy that windfall Governor!
I sure do, and Le Page plays the part of the Big Bad Wolf! Us little democratic piggy’s are just gonna outsmart him, and by the way…..no one plays records anymore, we don’t care if they are broken or not. They are like his proposals and policies…….junk!
” Us little democratic piggy’s are just gonna outsmart him” . What by brainwashing the people claiming the Democrats will bring more handouts to the Welfare Crowd. The Liberals are full of hot air most people who have common sense know the destruction the Liberals have caused to Maine it’s economy and to the people of Maine the last 40 years. The sad part the Libs are having their little tour with their forums talking about bringing back more of the same and adding Gay Marriage, Quimby’s Park and wanting to expand the number of Casinos. So they can put all of the revenue from Gambling into DHHS and Welfare. No thanks we aren’t that stupid they belong in the minority even losing more seats in both the house and senate.
Since you brought up the subject of brainwashing; how about that Governor who wants people to think that it’s out of state enrollment, fraud, and misuse of the mainecare funds that led to the shortfall.?
And how about the fact that this Governor has done NOTHING to contribute to anything causing this very mild positive outlook.
You have a little potpourri of comments that, must concern you. They should. You will see a different majority in at least one of the chambers in the Maine Legislature. And the best thing: we won’t see Debra Plowman!
It seems the vast majority hates Quimbys Park proposal, including me. I guess I don’t really care what two consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom and don’t understand why you would, and I think we could certainly use the tax revenue from casinos. If that tax revenue goes to places that make life easier for Mainers I’m ok with that, even if they’re poor, sick, or disabled Mainers. As far as these revenue projections go…anyone can play with the numbers to make them look positive for awhile, Baldacci did it by not paying the State’s bills for months, and McKernan did it by robbing the State retirement fund. Keep on dreaming, LePage allies will find themselves jobless in November.
darkcat33, I can’t help but wonder what made you one of the most angry posters I have read on these forums … ???
and a pigs brain is what size???
Revenues are exceeding projections. Expenses in DHHS are unfortunately also exceeding projections. $9 million over projections for revenue with a $220 million projected overage in expenses does not balance the budget.
“taxes from cigarettes and tobacco are 2.6 percent below estimates.”
Isn’t this what the left wants? A decrease in smoking? But the decrease in revenue is bad? What a quandary.
I’m pretty sure that the smoking taxes were bi-partisan, let’s spread the responsibility around fairly.
As welfare is cut, the cigarette taxes will go down more. Regardless of whether it is allowed or not entitlement money is commonly used for cigarettes, alcohol and lottery.
This is true and a lot more. I can’t afford a smart phone but I know people on the System that have them. And Tatoos. I believe in a Hand UP ………………
Do you really, or is this just the same old myth that gets tossed out there everythime. So far, I haven’t seen all those shiny new snowmobiles or 2012-model-year cars out at Capehart that everyone keeps talknig about…
Some people would complain if they were hung with a new rope!
ssaa
If the governor doesn’t know what he is doing then how come the revenues are up? Baby steps people, baby steps. Hopefully this will increase the margin to a better black figure and maybe this state can retire some debt thus making it’s bond rating better and saving even more of Y(OUR) tax dollars.
It’s not the governor’s “doing” that has anything at all with the slowly recovering national economy. If you want to place this in his honor, then explain, exactly what he did to precipitate this mild, and precarious growth?
The better the economy gets, the less viable any of his arguments will be.
“the less viable any of his arguments will be”. I disagree these Welfare Cuts should be made they don’t go far enough he should cut another 200,000+ off of these programs. These folks shouldn’t be on these programs in the first place. LePage needs to focus on these welfare cuts , cutting spending even more and cutting taxes. We need to grow jobs, businesses and income. Not growing Welfare programs.
Hey darkcat how are you today. For once you and I might have found something we can agree on. The need to grow jobs in Maine. So were you as bummed out as I was when I heard the news that the LePage Administration had managed to screw up what for all practical purposes was a done deal from the Baldacci Administration and that 600 jobs at Kestrel Aircraft were going to Wisconsin rather then Brunswick?
I thought you were against big evil corporations?
Kestrel was a “small” evil corporation!
Blah,Blah,Blah…maybe someday you’ll show us where all these jobs you keep talking about are. Oh, never mind, I know…they’re in China, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam, Mexico, etc.
Oh yeah, and Wisconsin.
Try living on foodstamps and raising a family on DHS checks and then tell us how much more these programs should be cut. Clean up the fraud but do not punish those who are already struggling.
“I disagree these Welfare Cuts should be made they don’t go far enough he should cut another 200,000+ off of these programs. ”
Why ?
What are the results that you expect from doing that ?
What are your economic projections on the sales tax of turning Vacationland into a permanent, too realistic Medieval Fair ?
Dont need economic projections ,
Information just comes in from the tinfoil hat!
WOW!
Right Rus, he is only responsible for anything negative and nothing positive. How partisan are you?
Really? Have you looked around at what effects LePage’s Policies are having on Low Income and the Elderly? Not to mention unemployment and energy!
Maybe he can just stop his hacking and slashing everything in sight!
The amazing thing is that they can tell us 15 days after the end of the month what our income surpluses or deficits are but they can not tell us what the over expenditures for MaineCare was in November. Must be the new math.
A reminder that the “Laffer Curve” is not a precise instrument — you can’t predict revenues even when you hold tax rates constant.
Hallaluja!!! Now we can increase the tax break for the rich.
Amen. Clearly the corporate tax is the reason for the increase.
Maine has been in the red for decades regardless of who runs the show. All this land and our State has willfully held itself hostage by a bunch of tree huggers who defy that we use our natural resources to help people. Start putting people first. LePage is going in the right direction and there are definitely some druggies and freeloaders on MaineCare. The entire state needs reform though. That includes the political hacks in Augusta and the Dept of Education too. Changing our state from economically destitute to prosperous will take years of job friendly policies. Tourism isn’t going to bring Maine back. Make cuts and make them all around. Start by cutting the pay of every politician in Maine to the average household income and see if they can survive. Democrat or Republican – they need to live like us.
I wanted to “like” your comment because I agreed with everything you said except “LePage is going in the right direction”. I think an honest governor can start taking us where we need to be, but LePage has been confirmed as a self serving liar and a bully. Too bad really. If he had gone in the direction he promised during his campaign he would have been good, but all he’s done is attack retirees, the poor, the sick, and the middle class. There is a post here that said he adjusted the state pension fund, but exempted himself, he also hired his daughter who was a professed resident of Florida, instead of an unemployed, more qualified Mainer. I can’t get past those things. They show who he really is, and can’t be disguised.
SMITH FOR GOVERNOR!!!
Thank You for all the Hard work Governor Paul LePage!!!
Yes indeed, Mr. LePage–time to take a deep bow and LEAVE
And do it soon please.
My My you people need to pull your heads out of the sand and actually look around instead of having a narrow minded opinion take your blinders off and look around!!!
I remember years ago when John first became governor and there happened to be a 150 million dollar surplus… There was a battle among the Democrats on where they were going to spend the money.. Every democrat want some pork project done… It was like throwing a handfull of nickels on the ground near the shelter
And all republicans have long ears. Check it out!
Interestingly, the article says ” state REVENUES edged back into the black”, which means the revenues were slightly higher than budgeted. However, it doesn’t say whether the EXPENSES are higher or lower than we budgeted. We really don’t know if for the BOTTOM LINE we are in the red or the black.
Furthermore $8.9 million dollars is a fraction of one percent of the billions of dollars of state revenues. We don’t know from this whether or not this miniscule amount will continue at a rising rate or if this was just a blip and has no significance.
But it sure is tempting to think we have all our problems behind us and start spending more again!
Ahh, so you own a business. All good points.
It is tempting to want to think we are out of the woods. I wouldn’t open a new car dealership, shopping outlet or mortgage office banking on the recovery anytime soon.
Projections don’t mean a thing. Until it’s in the bank, as a hard balance, it’s all a pipe dream. Kesterel showed us all that just this week. A projection is a theory. Kesterel projected. Look what happened there. Unti the market’s open up and demand for manufacturing increases we are all gonna be stuck with projection’s.
Seems to me these projections are what keep the fuel prices high.
In the preceding commentary I have found a large amount of people just whining about things. I’m not the most educated the Maine economic situation, nor am I the most educated on the Main Welfare programs. I do know a few things those and they are listed below.
1. I see people in my town everyday on Welfare programs who lie, hide income, work under the table, and falsify documents to stay on Welfare.
2. I know people in my town who put on 50 additional pounds so they could be on Welfare.
3. I see people turning down jobs because it doesn’t pay as much as their welfare.
4. Lying about our states situation to draw in jobs (regardless of how many) breaks the conduct of moral behavior and doing what is right in all situations. If you can’t win the jobs with the truth, then maybe you should change the situation instead of changing your morals.
(Sorry, that one just irked me)
So, as I see it based on these things that I have seen for several years now, these cuts probably aren’t a bad thing. When welfare was first put into place in our country it was during a time of great need, where the average man was starving to death because there was not enough money for him to live. There was one thing that was kept in its basic design though, it was to help not hinder. When it has gotten so that people are turning down part-time jobs because it doesn’t pay as much as the Welfare, then perhaps our Welfare has become to generous as it encourages people to stay on it instead of taking the first couple of steps to get off. If you could sit at home and hang out with your buddies and live a moderately comfortable life where you have an X-box live subscription, internet, cable TV, and go to dinner with your friends twice a week with out a job, where is the incentive to get off your butt and get a job? Perhaps I see this wrong, perhaps it is best if we take the marxist approach, everyone supports everyone, which inevitably ends in, everyone supports the Gov. officials and gets nothing in return. So I don’t mind the cuts, in fact, when one puts aside the drive for self preservation, you find, that sacrifices are required from each of us. Though I would like to see it more evenly distributed. One final thought though, if we keep delaying the needed cuts, both on a national and state level, it will not be long and we will be following suit in the European Debt Crisis. So lets focus on reducing what we don’t need(that really should be large and in bold), and create a simple, integrity driven group of people, starting in Maine, who instead of lying to get jobs from companys, simply work with the system for the good of the people as a whole over the individual, but not at the cost of the individual.
In the preceding commentary I have found a large amount of people just whining about things. I’m not the most educated the Maine economic situation, nor am I the most educated on the Main Welfare programs. I do know a few things those and they are listed below.
1. I see people in my town everyday on Welfare programs who lie, hide income, work under the table, and falsify documents to stay on Welfare.
2. I know people in my town who put on 50 additional pounds so they could be on Welfare.
3. I see people turning down jobs because it doesn’t pay as much as their welfare.
4. Lying about our states situation to draw in jobs (regardless of how many) breaks the conduct of moral behavior and doing what is right in all situations. If you can’t win the jobs with the truth, then maybe you should change the situation instead of changing your morals.
(Sorry, that one just irked me)
So, as I see it based on these things that I have seen for several years now, these cuts probably aren’t a bad thing. When welfare was first put into place in our country it was during a time of great need, where the average man was starving to death because there was not enough money for him to live. There was one thing that was kept in its basic design though, it was to help not hinder. When it has gotten so that people are turning down part-time jobs because it doesn’t pay as much as the Welfare, then perhaps our Welfare has become to generous as it encourages people to stay on it instead of taking the first couple of steps to get off. If you could sit at home and hang out with your buddies and live a moderately comfortable life where you have an X-box live subscription, internet, cable TV, and go to dinner with your friends twice a week with out a job, where is the incentive to get off your butt and get a job? Perhaps I see this wrong, perhaps it is best if we take the marxist approach, everyone supports everyone, which inevitably ends in, everyone supports the Gov. officials and gets nothing in return. So I don’t mind the cuts, in fact, when one puts aside the drive for self preservation, you find, that sacrifices are required from each of us. Though I would like to see it more evenly distributed. One final thought though, if we keep delaying the needed cuts, both on a national and state level, it will not be long and we will be following suit in the European Debt Crisis. So lets focus on reducing what we don’t need(that really should be large and in bold), and create a simple, integrity driven group of people, starting in Maine, who instead of lying to get jobs from companys, simply work with the system for the good of the people as a whole over the individual, but not at the cost of the individual.
“1. I see people in my town everyday on Welfare programs who lie, hide income, work under the table, and falsify documents to stay on Welfare. 2. I know people in my town who put on 50 additional pounds so they could be on Welfare.3. I see people turning down jobs because it doesn’t pay as much as their welfare.”
If you know for a fact that folks are defrauding our state and do not report them, you are an accomplice. Since you ‘know’ what your neighbors’ situations are and do not call the fraud hotline you are aiding and abetting. Instead of making accusations here, you should be making them where they will do some good. I’ve a feeling that you are not doing that because you, in fact, are not sure of other folks’ business. You sound exactly like LePage and tea partiers generally. Why don’t you do something about it if, in fact, you ‘know’?
I agree. Lots of people make unsubstantiated accusations on these sites, but what good does that do? If someone is abusing the system, they’re stealing from all of us. Make the call and report them. Even if you have a reasonable suspicion. At least that way an investigator can look into it.
You’re right, he’s making it up. Just like all those imaginary big screen TVs and brand new cars welfare recipients are supposedly flashing around town.
Funny, I see some of those behaviors (not reporting income, etc) being done to avoid paying taxes. But for some reason a lot of people around here consider that “no big deal”. Either way its someone putting their hand in OUR pocket.
LePage coulda used that money to secure hundreds of good paying Kestrel aircraft jobs in Brunswick….
but NOOOOooooo
yessah
VERY REFRESHING NEWS! GO GET EM’ PAUL
The way to take care of welfare cheats is enforce the law. Otherwise, by defunding the the agencies that administer such programs allows more fraud to occur. We’ve seen it before nationally: low funding of the EPA, 114 superfund sites in Maine; decrease funding of SEC, securities fraud by Madoff. So as they used to say in that tv commercial, “you can pay me now, or pay me later”.
If this is the case why is LePage cutting fuel assistance for low income and Elderly?? So the States revenues grow on the backs of the disadvantaged? RECALL LePAGE AND HIS CRONIES!
I thought it was the reduction in funds by the Feds that caused that?
Good news! Most of my family has quit smoking so this may be why tobacco taxes are down & in my book that is great news!
Well, some good news from Augusta. Perhaps our Governor is making a difference. All slackers beware-go get ’em Lepage!