Fiscal Analyst III Jesse Bushman gave a presentation to the Marcellus Shale Coalition regarding the Commonwealth’s economic and budget outlook and recent natural gas trends.
The Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released a mid-year revenue update for fiscal year 2024-25 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.
In response to a legislative request, the IFO transmitted a letter that updates a previous analysis on potential revenue sources that could replace school district property taxes if eliminated.
This research brief provides tabulations of child care industry employment, wages and average annual costs. For 2024 Q2, Pennsylvania private child care employment now exceeds pre-pandemic levels (2019 Q2) by 1,200 employees, while average industry wages increased significantly (31%). Child care costs vary widely depending on family income and access to the Child Care Works program.
The IFO will begin to project a five-year General Fund cost estimate as part of its pension analysis. This document uses proposed legislation from the 2023-2024 legislative session to detail the methodology used for those projections.
The Commonwealth collected $3.77 billion in General Fund revenues for December, an increase of $74 million (+2.0%) compared to December 2023.
This research brief provides tabulations of corporate net income tax return data for tax year 2021. For that year, 48 returns comprised nearly one quarter of tax liability, and 12.4% of taxable income was offset by net operating loss (NOL) deductions.
As part of its statutory duties, the IFO must “(p)rovide an analysis, including economic impact, of all tax and revenue proposals submitted by the Governor or the Office of the Budget.” Tax incidence is a key component of any economic impact analysis. This research brief and methodology compute effective tax rates (ETRs) to track tax incidence and assess the progressivity or regressivity of specific taxes and the overall state and local tax system. The methodology provides a detailed explanation of the data sources and assumptions used by the analysis.
This research brief examines gasoline purchases four years after the height of the pandemic. Gasoline tax revenue is down $250 million per annum due to reduced consumption.
This report presents data on Pennsylvania tax credits and economic development incentives for fiscal years (FY) 2019-20 through FY 2024-25. The tables provide annual detail on tax credit utilization or awards, state spending or grants, job training programs and state loan programs. Fiscal year 2024-25 amounts are budgeted, authorized or projected and will differ from final amounts claimed or awarded. The report also highlights recent changes to incentive program spending or utilization.