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THE MONEY HAS BEEN FOUND!
Will education & public services
get any of it?
On April 4, the Department of Revenue found up to $50 million in uncollected taxes and other revenues.
Yet on April 6, the Senate Taxation Committee decided to take the "conservative" approach to adding new money to the
state's general fund budget.
Consequently, the committee added only $17.151 million. About half - $8.960 million - is yet uncollected income taxes.
Unfortunately this is nearly $20 million less than what the committee might
have added in uncollected income taxes.
The committee gave as its reasons all of the following: The economy is
going south. The stock market is not well. Capital gains will not show up.
If the revenue projections fall short, then there will be a special session
to cut stuff. Schools can only get hurt when the legislature meets to cut.
New job creation is not robust enough, and new salaries paid are not high
enough to generate much new revenue from income taxation. There is too much
uncertainty to be bold in revenue projections. And finally, if additional
dollars do show up, then we can drop them into schools through the flex
plan.
History of the newly found money:
On Wednesday, April 4, in Senate Taxation, the truth finally became known.
The Department of Revenue - for whatever reasons - can see up to $50 million in uncollected income taxes and other revenues that heretofore had not been revealed to legislators and the governor. Read this story from the Bozeman Chronicle.
The argument that "the money isn't there" has crashed.
Please continue to tell legislators in no uncertain terms that you know the money is there to fund k-12 education at no less than $42 million in basic and per pupil entitlements.
Tell legislators they need not cut state employees to pay for the state pay plan.
Tell legislators they really can afford to appropriate more dollars to the state pay plan for university system employees.
But you must also tell legislators that despite this unexpected discovery, the money is NOT there for HB 617 (Balyeat) - the $78 million black hole in 2003. And the money is NOT there for HB 636 (Fuchs) - the 4% sales tax to eliminate the income tax.
And tell the governor, too. Governor Judy Martz needs to hear from you that public schools, higher education, and public services badly need this newly found money. Tell the governor that HB 617 and HB 636 are crazy schemes.
Politely tell legislators and the governor you will hold them accountable for spending this newly found money responsibly: on public education and public services.
Tell them today!
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