September 29th, 2020 by WCBC Radio
The Board of Revenue Estimates unanimously voted today to approve revenue projections of $18.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2021 and $19.7 billion for Fiscal Year 2022.
The FY 2021 forecast reflects a $1.4 billion increase (and a $2.1 billion increase for FY 2022) from unofficial estimates that the Board heard at a special nonvoting session in May to better understand the State's fiscal posture and review several revenue scenarios in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"While it is tempting to view these numbers as indicators that our economy has avoided a worst-case scenario and we are on a path to recovery, it's critical to acknowledge that we remain in a period of extreme volatility as our state, our nation and our world continues to battle the COVID-19 pandemic," Comptroller Peter Franchot said.
Several factors drove the rosier-than-anticipated revenue estimates, including a labor market that held up better than initially feared and the success of federal programs — direct stimulus payments, the Paycheck Protection Program and the $600 federal weekly unemployment subsidy for more than one million Marylanders — that kept the economy flowing and staved off an economic catastrophe.
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