September 30th, 2021 by WCBC Radio
The Maryland Board of Revenue Estimates voted today to dramatically increase the revenue projections for Fiscal Year 2022 by 5 percent to $21.1 billion, representing a $995 million increase from the March estimates.
Additionally, the Board, which consists of Comptroller Peter Franchot, Treasurer Nancy Kopp and Budget Secretary David Brinkley, set the first official revenue forecast for Fiscal Year 2023 at $22.2 billion.
Higher-than-expected collections in both the individual and corporate income tax are driving factors in the revenue write-up, while sales tax revenues also have risen sharply since the Board’s last revision in March.
Andrew Schaufele, the Board’s executive secretary, explained that $4.7 trillion in federal relief aid saved the nation from a deep recession and will likely permanently elevate the State’s tax revenue base, even if the direct federal money is not recurring. That’s largely due to wage growth across all industries that will raise personal income tax collections, as well as nonwage income growth.
Coupled with the announcement earlier this week that Maryland ended Fiscal Year 2021 with a $2.5 billion general fund balance, the $995 million write-up for FY 2022 and an additional $1.37 billion in estimated revenues for Fiscal Year 2023 than was previously forecast means state budget writers and policymakers have close to $5 billion in unanticipated revenue as they begin constructing the FY 2023 state budget.
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