State sales-tax collections have dropped again, falling in November compared with the same month the previous year, according to reports from the Department of Revenue.
The latest report of flagging revenues comes as Gov. Bill Ritter and lawmakers await the latest economic forecast from the legislative staff, which is to be presented on Friday.
State officials hope the news does not show revenues backsliding significantly. Previous forecasts have shown the state with a $560 million budget shortfall in the current fiscal year that ends in June and a hole of more than $1 billion in the following year.
Ritter, a Democrat, has proposed a variety of measures to bridge the gap, including $260 million in cuts to public schools, reducing fees paid to Medicaid providers to save $28 million, suspending a property-tax break for seniors that costs the state $90.2 million a year, delaying $93.8 million in payments to Medicaid providers, tapping $25.7 million in funds that would have been used for anti-smoking efforts, and eliminating or limiting 13 tax incentives to save $132 million.
Revenue figures for November showed total state sales-tax collections at $168.4 million, down 9.1 percent from the same month a year earlier.
Meanwhile, net individual income-tax collections for the month were $318.7 million, a slight increase of 0.3 percent over November 2008.
However, total tax collections into the general fund, the state’s primary pot of money for operating needs, were down 7.4 percent over the same month in 2008.
Tim Hoover: 303-954-1626 or thoover@denverpost.com
