New state revenue figures show improvement out of October. But that good news comes wrapped with strong concern for the coming months.
Georgia tax collections dipped only slightly over a year’s time, down 0.1 percent--or just over a million dollars. It follows good revenue figures out of September.
But those numbers mostly reflect the state’s economy BEFORE the bulk of the national market-meltdown struck and resulting trickle-down effect. Kenneth Heaghney is Governor Sonny Perdue’s fiscal economist:
"We’ve seen the national economy show signs of entering this significant recession, and that certainly creates concerns that Georgia will follow, and that revenues will follow as well."
Heaghney points out sectors within the construction industry had begun to moderate, but that again was before the market collapse.
The state has lost about $1.1 million dollars since the new fiscal year began July 1st. Perdue already has directed state agencies to tighten belts by six-percent, but that could increase if the economy worsens.
Georgia tax collections dipped only slightly over a year’s time, down 0.1 percent--or just over a million dollars. It follows good revenue figures out of September.
But those numbers mostly reflect the state’s economy BEFORE the bulk of the national market-meltdown struck and resulting trickle-down effect. Kenneth Heaghney is Governor Sonny Perdue’s fiscal economist:
"We’ve seen the national economy show signs of entering this significant recession, and that certainly creates concerns that Georgia will follow, and that revenues will follow as well."
Heaghney points out sectors within the construction industry had begun to moderate, but that again was before the market collapse.
The state has lost about $1.1 million dollars since the new fiscal year began July 1st. Perdue already has directed state agencies to tighten belts by six-percent, but that could increase if the economy worsens.
