Fiscal Highlights - May 2015

The April Tax Payments are In - How Do They Look? - Thomas E. Young ( PDF)

Every year staff presents you with point estimates for year-end revenue collections to the General and Education funds.  The year-end estimates represent the sum of such taxes as withholding, final income tax payments made in April, corporate tax, sales tax, severance taxes, and others.
Some of these revenue sources follow a fairly straight-forward pattern.  Other taxes are lumpy, and show up only in certain months.  One example is gross final payments.
Gross final payments, which are the payments individuals make around April 15th, are informally known as the "April surprise."
How does the April surprise look this year?
On the vertical axis of the figure below is the gross final payments by fiscal year.  On the horizontal axis is the month.  At the bottom is FY 2015 (the current year).  April payments this year came in at about $570 million, about $82 million above last year's $488 million and $10 million below FY 2013's $580 million. The April surprise, combined with above-expected withholding, are the reason behind income tax coming in above target.


May 2015 Content ( PDF)

Bond Refunding: Saving Money on Debt Service - Clare Tobin Lence
Bonds are used to finance large State initiatives, usually in the form of major infrastructure proj...
Budget Policy Changes Enacted in 2015 G.S. - Steven M. Allred
During the 2015 General Session, the Legislature passed several bills that had an impact on budgeta...
Classroom Teachers in Utah's Public Schools - Ben Leishman
Do classroom teachers really only represent 50% of all full time equivalent (FTE) positions in the ...
Department of Environmental Quality Significant Changes - Brian Wikle
Executive DirectorAmanda Smith, Executive Director of the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)...
Employment Drives Economic Growth - Andrea Wilko
Strong employment continues to be the largest factor in economic growth in Utah.  Economists...
Justice Reinvestment Initiative Funding and Performance Goals - Gary R. Syphus
House Bill 348, Criminal Justice Programs and Amendments, amended current criminal justice statute,...
The April Tax Payments are In - How Do They Look? - Thomas E. Young
Every year staff presents you with point estimates for year-end revenue collections to the General ...
UCAT Program Approvals - Angela J. Oh
Certificate programs provided by campuses of the Utah College of Applied Technology (UCAT) are deve...
Utah System of Higher Education Increases Tuition by 3% for 2015-2016 - Spencer C. Pratt
During its regular meeting on March 27, 2015, the State Board of Regents approved a first-tier tuit...
What Are We Doing to Reduce Catastrophic Wildfires in Utah? - Ivan D. Djambov
The Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands is tasked in S.B. 56, Wildland Fire Policy (2015 GS...
Where Does the Department of Health's Fee Revenue Come From? - Russell T. Frandsen
The Department of Health estimates total revenue of $13.1 million for FY 2016 from 1,200 fees. &nbs...
Workforce Services Will Report on $29 Million of Additional One-time TANF Projects - Stephen C. Jardine
The Legislature passed S.B. 47, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, during its 2015 General Se...

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Office of the Legislative Fiscal Analyst
House Building, Suite W310
Salt Lake City, UT 84114
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