Missouri’s state budget director on Thursday said plummeting revenues amid the coronavirus pandemic are unlike anything he’s ever seen.
Budget Director Dan Haug on Thursday announced net revenue collections dropped more than 54% in April this year compared to April 2019. Haug said delaying Tax Day from April 15 to July 15 likely took a significant hit on revenue collections last month.
Overall state revenues decreased more than 6% so far this year compared to the same time last year.
“This is unlike anything I have ever seen,” Haug said. “I couldn’t even imagine revenues dropping as much as they did. To see the economy turned off like a faucet is incredible.”
Haug said the impact of the coronavirus on the state economy hasn’t been fully realized yet. He said May revenues likely will be a better indication of the state of Missouri’s economy after the virus shuttered businesses and spiked unemployment.
The new data on state revenues comes as Missouri lawmakers rush to finish cobbling together a state spending plan for next fiscal year, which begins July 1. Lawmakers agreed to cut $700 million from Gov. Mike Parson’s original budget proposal, which was based on rosier revenue projections before COVID-19 hit the state.