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Fiscal Bureau Projects $143 Million State Deficit
By Wisconsin School Administrators Alliance staff | February 9, 2012
From WisPolitics:
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said today the state is now facing a gross deficit of $143.2 million for the 2011-13 biennium, a difference of almost $216 million from past projections.
The LFB said a number of factors combined to worsen the state’s fiscal outlook, including a $272.8 million drop in projected tax revenues through June 30, 2013. The agency noted the projected shortfall exceeds the trigger requiring the guv to submit a budget repair bill and says the administration is discussing steps to address the deficit, including debt refinancing and restructuring.
Gov. Scott Walker said in a statement when compared to other states “Wisconsin is headed in the right direction” and that his administration is “confident in our ability to manage the Wisconsin taxpayer’s money well.” The statement did not offer any steps the administration may take to address the shortfall. Rather, it focused on the LFB projection that the state would end the current fiscal year with a positive gross balance and compared Wisconsin to other states and referenced actions by Walker’s predecessor without mentioning Jim Doyle by name.
“We’ll keep our budget balanced without the job-killing tax increases implemented in the years before we took office; tax increases that led to over 150,000 Wisconsinites losing their jobs in the years before we took office,” Walker said. “In contrast, we’ve added thousands of jobs this year, have the lowest unemployment rate since 2008, lowered the tax burden and will end the year with a surplus.”
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