In its annual analysis of state spending, the Taxpayers Foundation warns of a looming fiscal crisis, with the Commonwealth facing a budget shortfall between $1.7 and $2.1 billion in fiscal 2003. According to the report, the 2002 budget will also likely end the year between $125 and $450 million out of balance. MTF attributes the sharp reversal in the state's fiscal fortunes to a dramatic decline in tax revenues, made worse by the impact of the voter-approved income tax cut. The report concludes that the state will confront the huge gap even if the economy recovers in 2002. As in the fiscal crisis of the late 1980s, state leaders have not coped adequately with the recent enormous change in financial circumstances.
January 01, 2002
FY Pre-2008
State Budget '02: Heading for a Crash
In its annual analysis of state spending, the Taxpayers Foundation warns of a looming fiscal crisis, with the Commonwealth facing a budget shortfall between $1.7 and $2.1 billion in fiscal 2003. According to the report, the 2002 budget will also likely end the year between $125 and $450 million out of balance. MTF attributes the sharp reversal in the state's fiscal fortunes to a dramatic decline in tax revenues, made worse by the impact of the voter-approved income tax cut. The report concludes that the state will confront the huge gap even if the economy recovers in 2002. As in the fiscal crisis of the late 1980s, state leaders have not coped adequately with the recent enormous change in financial circumstances.
