State tax revenue dips in November, up for the year

SACRAMENTO -- California’s tax revenue came in about 6% below forecasts in November, but state Controller John Chiang dismissed the drop as a fluke of the calendar.

Last month’s total of $6 billion was $375.6 million under estimates, Chiang said. But, revenue for the first five months of the fiscal year was $31.4 billion, ahead of budget predictions by $228.1 million.

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Meanwhile, state spending since the July 1 start of the fiscal year was down $126.3 million from budget assumptions.

Chiang blamed the lower-than-anticipated November sales tax revenue on the Thanksgiving holiday and the Black Friday shopping frenzy occurring at the tail end of the month. As a result, $440 million of associated sales tax revenue was not collected until December.

The overall revenue flow and an improved economy have made the controller “cautiously optimistic� about the state’s near-term financial situation.

However, he warned that lawmakers must “remain disciplined with our spending and pay down the billions of debt accrued during the Great Recession.�

The boost in revenue, fueled by a booming stock market, growing employment and improved retail sales, has put California in a stronger budgetary situation than any time in the last decade, the independent Legislative Analyst’s Office reported recently.

The analyst predicted that the treasury would roll up multi-billion surpluses in the coming years before a series of temporary tax hikes expire in 2018.

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Twitter: @MarcLifsher