In The News: Revenue

A casino resort and hotel complex would generate considerable local property, meal and room taxes, but “it would take the examination of the real proposal to verify a number that high,’’ Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, said, referring to the estimate.

"The small growth in tax revenues will put great strains on the fiscal 2013 budget with increases in nondiscretionary spending outpacing the additional revenues available," Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation testified.

“I think we are all looking at a very limited number of new jobs created over the next year or two. I think that is the theme today, that we are in for a long haul,” said Michael Widmer of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation.

And even with sluggish job growth and a not-exactly perking along economy, state revenues for fiscal 2013 (beginning July 1, 2012), are likely to increase by around 3.9 percent, according to the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation

Fiscal experts including Widmer were quick to point out that while the state's modest economic recovery is causing tax revenue to grow at a higher clip, Massachusetts is still taking in less in total taxes than it did prior to the Great Recession. The state is forecast to collect $700 million less in taxes in fiscal 2012 than it did in fiscal 2008.

Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, estimated that the state would add a negligible number of jobs over the next fiscal year. An uptick in income tax collections would occur, he added, largely because of anticipated increases in wages and salaries.

Widmer said the state's tepid tax revenue growth stems from a sluggish forecast for the national economy and weakening employment for the nation and the state. Widmer estimated the state will add only 9,000 jobs this fiscal year and will lose 5,000 jobs in the next fiscal year because of weakness in the national and global economies.

The Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation Monday predicted "tepid" state revenue growth for the fiscal year that begins July 1. The group predicted revenue will grow by $822 million, or 3.9 percent, to $22 billion for fiscal 2012.

“This is a hazardous occupation. It is unpredictable,” said Michael Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation, who has been tasked year after year with taking delivering to state government officials his best guess about future tax collections. “This is clearly an art form, not a science. There are analytical pieces to it, but there is not a scientific equation or arithmetic equation.”

“The numbers demonstrate just how difficult this recession and fiscal crisis have been for cities and towns,’’ said Michael J. Widmer, president of the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation. “Their revenues have been virtually flat, while their costs have grown, which has meant cuts in schools, public safety, and other basic services for most cities and towns.’’