A Non-Fiction Look at State Government Revenues One Year After COVID-19
05/20/2021
- U.S. state tax revenues were just higher (+0.01%) for the 12 months between March 2020 and February 2021. In other words, cumulative state tax receipts passed a key COVID-19 recovery indicator, their pre-pandemic level.
- Results differ state-to-state. We do see 19 states where revenues have not recovered. Receipts were the worst in Alaska (-49.2%), Hawaii (-17.4%), North Dakota (-10.9%), Nevada (-10.8%), and Texas (-10.3%).
- We address the Wall Street Journal's cynical, "The Great State Budget Con." The assessment does not appreciate the nuance inherent in state governments nationwide.