Now Available
Our annual report on state fiscal health. Debt among the states improved slightly. Going from $1.2 trillion down to $938.6 billion.
What happened?
How did your state do? Read the full report below.
https://www.truthinaccounting.org/news/detail/financial-state-of-the-states-2023
|
|
This year's report found that 31 states did not have enough money to pay all of their bills.
The state’s net AGI migration improved by nearly $1.4 billion, from around negative $1.6 billion to negative $302 million, in 2020. The IRS’ newly released interstate Adjusted Gross Income migration data show how much wealth states lost or gained between 2019 and 2020. The latest available data is for 2020. Net AGI migration in 2020 is calculated by subtracting AGI inflow from AGI outflow. The change between 2019 and 2020 in net AGI migration takes an individual state’s net AGI migration in 2020 and subtracts it from net AGI in 2019.
When assessing the states whose wealth increased the most between 2019 and 2020 through migration, most follow previous AGI migration trends: Florida, Tennessee, Nevada, and Texas are among the top states for net AGI increase in 2020. Most of these states’ performance has been analyzed by Truth In Accounting: Top and Bottom Net AGI 2020 Analysis. READ MORE
By Keith Phaneuf, includes “Connecticut officials have ignored for decades the effects of inflation on the state income tax, an oversight that costs low- and middle-income families tens of millions of dollars annually, according to a new report. ”
By Keith Phaneuf (Connecticut Mirror), includes “… Increasing income, sales and corporation tax receipts have state finances finishing more than $2.2 billion in the black this fiscal year — a whopping cushion approaching 10% of the entire budget. … ”
Seven-minute video, text includes “Rep. Laura Devlin, Deputy House Republican Leader, poses questions about the reality of Connecticut's long term financial picture after officials talked about revenue increases.”
By Martin Braun, includes “Residents of Norwich, Connecticut, will vote Tuesday on whether to gamble with their tax dollars by issuing bonds to cover swelling pension obligations, amid a record year for sales of such debt. Voters are being asked to approve issuing $145 million of securities to cover Norwich’s pension obligation, after retirement costs almost tripled in the past decade.”
To encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information, Truth in Accounting has created a transparency score for financial reporting by the states.
One-hour video analysis of Connecticut state government finances and the state’s performance in our latest Financial State of the States report.
PRESS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Truth in Accounting's twelfth annual Financial State of the States report, a nationwide analysis of the most recent state government financial information.
By Heather Gillers, includes “Many U.S. towns and cities are years behind on their pension obligations. Now some are effectively planning to borrow money and put it into stocks and other investments in a bid to catch up. … Howard Cure, director of municipal bond research at Evercore Wealth Management, said that though he occasionally purchases the securities, the decision to issue them raises red flags.”
By Alina Tugend, includes “Pensions are complicated enough without employers passing the buck onto someone else, but increasingly, that is what's happening. … When an insurer takes over the plan, that pension is no longer protected by federal law, but rather state law, which regulates insurance companies."
By Chris Powell, includes “At Governor Lamont's order state government is reducing its direct subsidies to businesses coming into the state."
By Keith Phaneuf, includes “The coronavirus left unprecedented damage in its wake. Massive unemployment, education interrupted for hundreds of thousands of students, and a safety net pushed beyond its limit — not to mention more than 8,000 lives lost — sparked countless appeals for government assistance to rebuild a struggling state.”
By Thomas Breen, includes “… Hamlin detailed for the group a proposal … for how the state can shore up the tens of billions of dollars in unfunded liabilities for its two public employee pensions. He argued that some of the facets of the proposal — such as lowering the estimated rate of return to between 4 and 5.5 percent, increasing the retirement age for most categories of public employees, and shifting to a 'shared risk' model akin to that already in place in New Brunswick, Canada — could also translate to the local level.”
By Julia Bergman, includes “With one day left in the 2021 legislative session, the state House of Representatives adopted a two-year, $46 billion budget just after midnight that uses $1.75 billion in federal stimulus dollars to avoid tax increases and spending cuts. … Cities and towns are also big winners, set to receive at least a $227 million increase in state funding for the fiscal year that starts July 1 over the current year, plus $2.6 billion in federal stimulus money.”
By Christopher Keating, includes “Negotiators for Democratic legislative leaders and Gov. Ned Lamont announced a conceptual agreement Friday on a two-year, $46 billion state budget for Connecticut that preserves a promise by the governor not to increase taxes. … ‘I think it’s a budget that’s incredibly bold,’ Lamont said. ‘It’s balanced with no new taxes.’ …”
By Laura Davison, includes “Residents of New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut will face the highest tax burdens over a lifetime, according to a new study.”