Ohio Gov. John Kasich said Wednesday that the next state budget will be “tight” following lower-than-anticipated state revenues.
“There’s not going to be a lot of growth in any [state] program,” Kasich told reporters in suburban Columbus. “It’s going to be tight. There’s not going to be an ability to give significant percentage increases.”
At the same time, the Columbus-area Republican vowed there will be “no net tax increases.” In previous budgets, Kasich has successfully pushed to cut state income taxes while raising the sales tax rate. He also has sought to increase taxes on oil and gas drilling, though state lawmakers have so far resisted the idea.
The governor said he couldn’t go into too much detail about what those “tough decisions” might mean for his budget plan next year until he sees upcoming state revenue figures.
State tax receipts last month were $88 million lower than projected – a shortfall of 4.7 percent, according to the Office of Management and Budget. One main reason is that revenue from Ohio’s non-auto sales tax was nearly $43 million less than anticipated.
As of the end of October, total state revenue was $160 million, or 2.2 percent, short of estimates. That’s partly because income tax revenue was about 3 percent lower than expected.
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