Explaining the state’s newfound budget surplus. Dale Knapp with the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says the state has gone from deficit to surplus before. “Last year the Fiscal Bureau put out revenue estimates in January, February, and then in May when they did their re-estimates, tax revenues were bumped up by five, six million dollars,” said Knapp.
In February, it was projected Wisconsin would end the biennium in 2013 with a deficit of $143 million dollars, but this week improved revenue collections show Wisconsin now has a projected surplus of over $154 million when the biennium ends next June. “These again are not big re-estimates, but it puts us back into surplus, and that’s just a function of the fact that we’re carrying very slim deficits, and so we’re moving from one side of the ledger to the other.”
The Walker administration credits the increase with growth in personal income, job creation, and increased employment. DOA Secretary Mike Huebsch says lower than expected tax refunds and debt refinancing also helped the state save additional money.