Georgia Revenue Down $1B In Early Look Before Late Taxes Due

Georgia state government preliminarily closed out its 2019-2020 budget year with a more than $1 billion drop in tax collections according to figures released Friday, but the real budget shortfall won’t be known for weeks yet as state officials await delayed income tax receipts.

Whatever the budget hole ends up being, Gov. Brian Kemp and lawmakers have agreed it will be filled using the state’s rainy day fund, which had $2.8 billion at the beginning of the year. By law, the state can’t run a deficit.

The preliminary figure makes it likely that the shortfall will ultimately be less than $1 billion, down from early estimates that ranged as high as $1.5 billion as state tax revenues nosedived during the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic.