April State Tax Revenue Takes Big Hit

BOSTON — State tax collections were down $2.34 billion, or 54 percent, in April from the same month a year ago.

The Massachusetts Department of Revenue report released Thursday was the first covering a full month of the state-ordered shutdown of nonessential businesses to slow the spread of the new coronavirus. The report comes as state lawmakers try to rewrite the budget for the next fiscal year and is expected to increase calls for the state to reopen its economy.

April tax collections were 7.7 percent lower than projections. For the fiscal year ending June 30, tax collections are down six percent for the same 10-month period last year.

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Some of the decline was attributed to the postponement to July 15 from April 15 for people to file state income taxes. With the delay, the state has collected 24 percent fewer income tax returns than it had at this time last year. Total income tax collections in April were $2.1 billion, or 65 percent, lower than they were in April 2019.

The state has $3.5 billion in its stabilization fund that can be tapped to cover shortfalls. The state could also see some of the shortfall covered as people file income tax returns ahead of the new July 15 deadline.

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Dave Copeland writes for Patch and can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).