By Cole Lauterbach/Illinois Radio Network

SPRINGFIELD – A new government report on tax revenue shows Illinois’ businesses are struggling, potentially exacerbating Illinois’ debt spiral as tax revenues fall well short of already low estimates.

The Commission on Government Forecasting and Accountability’s monthly reports have shown the state’s businesses and workers are not making the income that would indicate a healthy economy. They say in the report released Friday that January’s corporate income taxes are down $444 million, while personal income tax is down $245 million compared to last year’s already “grim” performance.

Getting fewer tax receipts than expected means that the state has less to pay bills and offer in state services. This report indicates that Illinois could fall $1 billion short, likely more, of what they were expecting to collect in the fiscal year 2017.

“While sales tax now has managed to post back to back months of decent performance, those gains were more than erased with continued drops in both personal and corporate income
taxes,” the report said.

“It seems to be a broken record. Month after month of tax revenues not performing up to expectations,” said COGFA revenue manager Jim Muschinske. “Clearly, things have weakened considerably from the earlier forecast.”

He said they expected lower revenue numbers like the rest of that country, but they’re seeing lower revenue numbers than expected.

“It’s clearly something that we didn’t really anticipate,” Muschinske said. “The level of decline we have seen, that is.”

Muschinske said COGFA will likely revise its revenue estimate for the fiscal year next month to reflect lower sales and income taxes.