Tax Rate Review Committee’s budget projections closer to historic average
The budget growth projected by the Legislature’s Tax Rate Review Committee earlier this week is closer to the historic average of 5.4 percent growth than was the 3.5 percent growth achieved in the c
urrent budget.
The committee’s projections for 4.3 percent budget growth in the next biennium illustrate that it will be difficult to maintain this session’s relatively low-level of budget growth without cuts to schools, roads and other vital services, said OpenSky Executive Director Renee Fry.
“While the Legislature was able to hold spending growth to 3.5 percent for the next two years, this was primarily a result of low funding growth in K-12 education and other one-time adjustments that won’t be available in future budgets,” Fry said.
The Tax Rate Review Committee – composed of the Speaker of the Legislature and the chairs of the Appropriations and Revenue Committees and the Executive Board – meets after the legislative session to determine if income and sales tax rates need to be adjusted to help the state balance its budget. The committee made no recommendations for tax rate changes at this time.