This report provides a revenue estimate for the proposal to legalize recreational marijuana contained in the FY 2026-27 Governor's Executive Budget. The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) publishes this report to fulfill its statutory duties as provided under Section 604-B (a)(4) of the Administrative Code of 1929. The act requires that the IFO “provide an analysis, including economic impact, of all tax and revenue proposals submitted by the Governor or the Office of the Budget."
This report provides a revenue estimate for the proposal to tax and regulate skill games contained in the FY 2026-27 Governor's Executive Budget. The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) publishes this report to fulfill its statutory duties as provided under Section 604-B (a)(4) of the Administrative Code of 1929. The act requires that the IFO “provide an analysis, including economic impact, of all tax and revenue proposals submitted by the Governor or the Office of the Budget."
This report uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and other sources to facilitate a comparison of state and local tax systems across the 50 states. The report examines (1) state and local effective tax rates across states, (2) the distribution of state and local taxes across revenue sources (e.g., income, sales and property) and (3) state debt levels.
This budget brief provides updated IFO deficit projections through FY 2029-30. Excluding new revenues proposed in the Executive Budget, the FY 2025-26 underlying structural deficit of $3.9 billion is projected to expand to $8.4 billion by FY 2029-30.
This budget brief tracks General Fund surpluses and deficits since FY 2013-14. Excluding new revenue and spending policies proposed in the Executive Budget, the underlying structural deficit is projected to expand to $6.7 billion in FY 2026-27.
This report utilizes data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration to display recent trends for the Pennsylvania and regional electricity markets. The report examines recent trends in prices, net generation and net exports.
The Commonwealth collected $3.94 billion in General Fund revenues for January, an increase of $11 million compared to January 2025.
The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a mid-year revenue update for fiscal year 2025-26 and provided an advance look at revenue projections for the next fiscal year. The IFO will update the estimate in its next round of revenue projections released in late May.
The IFO published a new research brief that provides a summary of investment performance and funded status for the two state pension systems. The brief shows that SERS and PSERS have out-performed their investment return assumptions over 3-, 5- and 10-year periods and increased their respective funded status to nearly 70% (SERS) and 67% (PSERS). The document also provides an update on active membership by pension plan type following the enactment of Act 5 of 2017.
As required by statute, the IFO submitted an economic impact report for the Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championship in Dauphin County (January 2025) to the General Assembly. The analysis finds that economic activity related to the event generated $2.6 million in statewide spending and $102,000 in select state and local taxes.