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February 20, 2002 - We estimate that the state will need to identify $5 billion in additional budget solutions beyond those proposed by the administration. This compendium contains more than 100 expenditure reduction/revenue raising options to help the Legislature address this larger shortfall. In better fiscal times we would not necessarily put such options on the table, however we offer them in the context of a need to solve a growing budget shortfall.
December 19, 2001 - Due to weak economic and revenue performance, California faces a $12.4 billion budget shortfall in 2002-03. We identify several key budget-balancing principles and strategies and identify specific spending and revenue options for implementing these strategies. Finally, we review the administration's initial proposals to address the current-year shortfall and offer additional current-year options for the Legislature to consider.
November 14, 2001 - California will end 2001-02 with a deficit of $4.5 billion, while the 2002-03 budget year faces a shortfall of $12.4 billion and potentially even more if the recovery we are assuming for next spring is delayed. Annual budget shortfalls will persist well beyond 2002-03 absent corrective actions. Thus substantial ongoing expenditure cuts and/or revenue augmentations are required to bring the budget back into balance.
February 21, 2001 - The most pressing challenge currently facing the state relates to its electricity crisis, especially in light of the multiplicity of ways that energy affects the economy and ultimately the state's finances.
February 21, 2001 - Our "bottom line" budget estimates are similar to the administration's. Due to uncertainty related to the state's electricity crisis and to the very unsettled national and state economic environment the Legislature should withhold consideration of the Governor's $2.3 billion of one-time proposals outside of the energy area until May.
February 21, 2001 - Our "bottom line" budget estimates are similar to the administration's. Due to uncertainty related to the state's electricity crisis and to the very unsettled national and state economic environment the Legislature should withhold consideration of the Governor's $2.3 billion of one-time proposals outside of the energy area until May.
January 25, 2001 - Based on our findings, we recommend that the Legislature remove the existing sunset for the current partial Sales and Use Tax (SUT) exemption for bunker fuel sales, and make the exemption permanent. This action would result in treating bunker fuel sales similarly to other export sales and place California ports on par with other U.S. out-of-state ports. We also recommend that the Legislature review the appropriateness of current SUT treatment of fuel sales to common carriers other than vessels, including air and rail common carriers.
January 18, 2001 - The purpose of this primer is to address, in a highly graphical format, various questions, including: What are the different types of taxes upon which California relies? What is their relative importance, and how have they evolved over time? How large a "burden" do these taxes impose on Californians and how is this burden distributed? What types of policy issues are associated with the current tax structure?
November 15, 2000 - California is in the midst of an extraordinary economic and revenue boom. We project that in 2000-01 the State of California's General Fund will end with a reserve of nearly $6.9 billion—up sharply from the $1.8 billion assumed in June when the budget was adopted. In 2001-02, assuming current-law spending and tax policies, we forecast that revenues would exceed expenditures by $3.4 billion, bringing the cumulative reserve to $10.3 billion. We suggest that the $6.9 billion reserve carried into the budget year from 2000-01 be used primarily for one-time purposes; the $3.4 billion annual operating surplus would be available for ongoing purposes.
October 2, 2000 - A Handout presented on September 29, 2000, to Senate Committee on Revenue and Taxation, Senate Committee on Environmental Quality, and Assembly Committee on Revenue and Taxation.
August 10, 2000 - In recent decades the distribution of adjusted gross income reported on California tax returns has shifted significantly, with the share attributable to the top 20 percent of returns rising and that for the bottom 80 percent falling. We examine the changes in California's income distribution and their causes.
April 6, 2000 - General Fund revenues have been accumulating at a dramatic pace in early 2000. If current strong trends continue through the end of the year, revenues in 1999-00 will exceed the administration's January budget forecast by more than $4 billion and our own February estimate by $2 billion. Our updated forecast of the state's fiscal condition for the current and budget years will be published following the May Revision. (Cal Update)