Chiang: California Fiscal Outlook Cautiously Optimistic

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LOS ANGELES -- California revenues for November missed estimates, but year-to-date revenues are still above projections, according to State Controller John Chiang.

Revenues for the month totaled $6 billion, missing estimates in the state budget by $375.6 million, according to the report, released on Dec. 10.

Chiang said this was caused, in large part, by timing issues associated with the Thanksgiving holiday and “Black Friday” weekend occurring at the end of November, resulting in $440 million of sales tax revenue not being collected and recorded until the beginning of December.

For the first five months of the fiscal year, revenues collected totaled $31.4 billion, beating estimates by $228.1 million. State spending those months was down $126.3 million from estimates.

“Revenue collections through the first five months of this fiscal year provide us with millions of reasons to be cautiously optimistic about California’s near-term fiscal outlook,” said Chiang. “However, unless we remain disciplined with our spending and pay down the billions of debt accrued during the Great Recession, even a modest swing in our economy could return us to deficit budgets.”

The state ended the month with a general fund cash deficit of $19.6 billion, which was covered with internal and external borrowing. That number was down from last year, when the state faced a cash deficit of $24.9 billion at the end of November.

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