"Driven by an upswing in consumer activity and job growth, September revenues beat projections by more than $670 million," said Chiang. "If we remain disciplined in paying down the State’s debt, building a healthy reserve, and tackling the $64 billion unfunded liability associated with providing health benefits to our retired public workforce, Californians will have longer to enjoy this newfound prosperity."
The State closed the first quarter (July 1 – September 30) of its fiscal year with $21.8 billion in total revenues, beating estimates by $533.2 million, or 2.5 percent.
Income tax collections for the month of September came in $350.6 million, or 6.1 percent, above estimates. Corporate tax receipts came in $173.7 million, or 18.5 percent, above estimates.
Sales taxes similarly outpaced estimates by $228.6 million, or 12.4 percent, for the month.
As of September 30, the General Fund accumulated outstanding loans of $13.4 billion, which was down $2.4 billion from what the State expected to need by the end of its first fiscal quarter. This total was financed by $10.6 billion of borrowing from internal state funds and $2.8 billion of borrowing from banks and other outside investors.
For more details on today's report, read the financial statement and summary analysis.