By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Daily Star
The $9.8 billion state budget is being billed by Republican lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey as the best outcome given the money the state has to spend.
Legislative budget analysts predict revenues this coming fiscal year of $9.8 billion. That, coupled with $171 million anticipated to be left at the end of this budget year June 30, plus $8.2 million in transfers from other funds, gives the state its structurally balanced budget.
What’s not mentioned is the state might have had more money to spend had there not been a series of corporate tax cuts approved by lawmakers half a decade ago that are still kicking in. For just this coming budget year, those changes will reduce state revenues by another $107 million.
But that’s not all of it.
