LOS ANGELES — California revenue beat Governor Jerry Brown's latest estimate by 10% in June, State Controller John Chiang said in a monthly report on the state's cash balance, receipts and disbursements.
Total revenues for June equaled $13.1 billion, exceeding the governor's May revision estimate by $1.2 billion. Total revenues for the fiscal year ending June 30 were $100.1 billion, topping estimates by $2.0 billion.
"Rising employment, economic expansion and voter-approved tax increases have generated revenues outperforming even the rosiest of projections," said Chiang. "However, California's history of boom or bust revenue cycles should be a cautionary tale that informs our spending decisions and incentivizes policymakers to prudently pay down accumulated debt."
Brown recently signed a $97.4 general fund budget. The budget bill passed with little acrimony between state legislators and the governor's office this year.
State spending has been bolstered by the passage of statewide ballot measure in November that raised sales taxes and income taxes on the wealthy to help pay for education, the largest expenditure in the budget.
Lawmakers also opted to use Brown's lower budget revenue projections despite a forecast from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office that expects revenues to be $3.2 billion higher than the governor's estimates.
The State ended the 2011-2012 fiscal year with a cash deficit of $9.6 billion, and by June 30, 2013, that cash deficit narrowed to $2.4 billion. The cash deficit is being covered by internal borrowing from special funds.
Personal income taxes for June came in $644.6 million or 8.7% above monthly estimates outlined in the governor's May Revision. Corporate taxes for June were $373.5 million or 21.5% above monthly estimates, while sales tax receipts were $70.1 million or 3.5% above estimates.
