Total revenues for October, the fourth month of fiscal year 2014-15, totaled $6 billion, coming in above Budget Act estimates by $662.2 million, or 12.3%, according to a report by State Controller John Chiang on Monday.
For the fiscal year to date (July 1-Oct. 31), total revenues reached $27.9 billion, beating estimates by $1.2 billion, or 4.5%.
“Four months into the fiscal year, California’s coffers overflowed by $1.2 billion,” Chiang said. “The news comes on the heels of two other positive developments: the vote to strengthen California’s rainy-day fund through Proposition 2, and the credit upgrade that followed one day later.”
“To further boost California’s credit worthiness and sustain prosperity on a long-term basis, we must next tackle the growing $64 billion unfunded liability stemming from providing health benefits to our retired public workforce,” Chiang said.
“To not only protect taxpayers, but also the retirement security promised to our firefighters, teachers and other providers of critical public services, we can no longer deny, delay, or equivocate,” he added.
Income tax collections for the month of October came in at $363.5 million, or 8.4% above estimates. Corporate tax revenues came in at $303.6 million, or 1,222% above estimates.
Sales taxes fell short of estimates by $37.4 million, or 4.1% for the month.
As of Oct. 31, the General Fund accumulated outstanding loans of $17.8 billion, which was down $2.6 billion from what the state expected to need by the end of October. This total was financed by $15 billion of borrowing from internal state funds and $2.8 billion of borrowing from banks and other outside investors.
