Healey to keep revenue expectations up, says finance official.

TLDR:

Governor Maura Healey’s administration has no plans to reduce revenue expectations or make further budget cuts, according to Administration and Finance Secretary Matthew Gorzkowicz. This comes after January revenues in Massachusetts reportedly fell below already lowered benchmarks. While Gorzkowicz did not rule out future budget reductions, he stated that no exercise was currently underway to implement such cuts, but that it was always an option to consider.

Key points:

• Healey’s administration does not plan to downgrade revenue expectations or make additional budget cuts
• No exercise to implement 9C cuts, but future reductions are not ruled out
• Massachusetts collected $3.5 billion in January, nearly 7% lower than the revised expectation issued in January
• Decreases in income tax withholding, non-withheld income tax, corporate and business tax contributed to revenue fall

Gorzkowicz acknowledged that the state’s financial situation is challenging, given the lowered revenue figures. The Massachusetts Republican Party expressed concern at the missed revenue targets and criticized the administration’s policies for impacting the budget and causing residents to leave the state. However, Gorzkowicz stated that the administration was already prepared for lower tax revenues for the rest of the fiscal year, and would take appropriate action to ensure a balanced budget.