
Bill Leonard: Phony Numbers in May Revise
State Board Of Equalization Member Bill Leonard is considered to be one of the GOP’s experts on State finances… He penned the following for his “Leonard Letter” e-mail….
***Phony Revenues in May Revise***
I have now spent hours trying to explain the state budget to myself and ended up frustrated. I did find in the Department of Finance information the numbers that the state expects to take in (with May and June included in advance). The total is $101.1 billion this year and, for the next year that everyone is fighting about, the take is projected at $102.9 billion. However, I have learned the Governor is booking new bond debt and his lottery sale proposal — around $5 billion that is not real revenue, but actually is borrowing.
If you and I count money as revenue, we have to pay income taxes on it. However, if it’s a loan we do not have to pay taxes on the money because the IRS/FTB do not consider it revenue. But if you are state government, borrowed money is called revenue even though it was not earned nor collected as taxes and must be repaid. Most budgets would make the distinction between earned revenue and… Read More