June 03, 2020
PUBLIC FINANCE > Budget > FY 2021

Statehouse Roundup: Too close for comfort

Matt Murphy ,

State House News Service

As Congress bickers over the size and scope of the next federal relief package, the Massachusetts Taxpayers Foundation warned this week that the pillars of the state’s economy – health care, higher education, tourism – could be so fundamentally shaken that a sharp “V” shaped recovery is no longer possible.

A vaccine or viable treatment for COVID-19 remains the Holy Grail to resuming normal activities, and without it the fiscal watchdog group predicted that state tax revenue may not fully rebound until fiscal 2025.

What that means for next year, however, is still anyone’s guess. Much remains unknown about how lawmakers will approach budgeting for the fiscal year that begins July 1, and how much money will be available to spend. MTF and others have predicted that as much as $6 billion in anticipated revenues could disappear. But that’s just a guess, and Congress could fill some of that hole.