PPT Slide
The following chart shows that when inflation is removed from the growth rate of the six major tax groupings, the income tax is the only grouping that shows a positive growth (arguably, the sales tax had a growth of .4%, but that rounds to -0-). This means that not only are these other major taxes not helping fund new and expanded programs like teachers’ pay, corrections dept. increases, Medicaid waiver slots, etc., they are actually putting pressure on the income tax to provide the growth in the tax base to do so. Relying so heavily on the income tax for growth in the state’s revenue stream creates a special vulnerability to state and national economic downturns that could adversely impact income tax receipts. The negative growth in corporation and excise taxes is partly attributable to credits and exemptions that were discussed in a previous chart.