Tagged: deficit

Governor Rick Snyder's budget proposal for the fiscal year that begins October 1st will be released next Thursday, February 17th. The state currently faces a projected $1.8 billion budget deficit for the new fiscal year. Snyder says he plans to ask lawmakers to do away with billions in business tax exemptions, according to the Associated Press. The AP reports:

Snyder has said he plans to review tax credits to see which are worth keeping, but hadn't said how many would be eliminated.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley told the Holland Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday that the administration is counting on $2 billion from such cuts.

Calley also says the budget proposal will be like an "atomic bomb" going off in Lansing, a comment that drew criticism from Snyder spokeswoman Sara Wurfel.

Wurfel said Wednesday that Calley's comments were an "extremely unfortunate choice of words."

She also denied Calley's claim that Snyder plans to present an all-cuts budget.

Republican state Senator Roger Kahn introduced a bill yesterday that would eliminate the state's Earned Income Tax Credit. The tax credit currently goes to low-income working people in Michigan. The Associated Press reports:

He (Kahn) says the credit is expected to cost the state roughly $370 million in the upcoming fiscal year and the state can't afford it. Many House Republicans also support eliminating the tax credit. The tax credit is staunchly defended by groups including the Michigan League for Human Services and the Michigan Catholic

Conference. They say eliminating the credit would be the equivalent of a tax increase on the working poor.

The state faces a projected $1.8 billion shortfall for the fiscal year that begins October 1st.

Lately, you've probably heard or read a Michigan Radio story that includes this number: 1,800,000,000. In case you haven't had your morning coffee yet... that's 1.8 billion. Economic forecasters predict Michigan's budget, for the fiscal year that begins October 1st, is $1.8 billion in the red.

However, later today, that figure could change. That's because economists are meeting today for what's called a "revenue estimating conference" at the state Capitol. The economists will come up with an estimate of just how much money the state can expect to receive through the next fiscal year. As the state's website explains:

The Revenue Estimating Conference held each January is a major part of the budget process. During the conference, national and state economic indicators are used to formulate an accurate prediction of revenue available for appropriation in the upcoming fiscal year. This conference first convened in 1992, pursuant to Act No. 72 of the Public Acts of 1991. The principal participants in the conference are the State Budget Director and the Directors of the Senate and House Fiscal Agencies or their respective designees. Other participants may include the Governor and senior officials from the Department of Treasury.

It's not all bad news coming out of the symphony world.

The Grand Rapids Symphony is the second largest orchestra in Michigan, after the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. And yet the two arts organizations finances couldn't be farther apart. The GR Symphony posted a $65,000 budget surplus for the 2010 fiscal year; the DSO posted an $8.8 million deficit.

It's easy to criticize. Now you're in charge.

The New York Times has created a slick little interactive tool that displays different solutions to the country's projected budget deficits.