STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today said the state ended the 2008 fiscal year with a final budget surplus of $83.4 million, created mainly by stronger-than-expected income tax revenue that offset higher government spending.

Collection of the income tax grew by 11 percent for the year, and tax revenue overall was up four percent. Government spending, meanwhile, rose by 8.8 percent, mainly due to the use of surplus funds from previous years.

Wyman said the 2008 fiscal year was an erratic one that saw the $17.6 billion state budget go from surplus to deficit and back to surplus.

After a strong start produced an estimated surplus of about $280 million by February, a sharp slowdown in the economy put the budget $67 million in the red by May. That was followed by a late-summer rally in the income tax that created the relatively small surplus as the fiscal year came to a close.

"This year was a true economic roller-coaster ride for Connecticut," Wyman said. "And the final bottom line proves that as goes the income tax, so goes the state budget."

Job growth for the year was a modest 6,000 payroll positions, compared with the nearly 21,000 jobs gained in fiscal 2007. The sales tax increased by a weak 2.5 percent, and existing home sales hit a 10-year low. Overall personal income rose by a strong four percent, however, ranking Connecticut in the top quarter of all states for income growth.

The 8.8 percent increase in state spending was led by:

• $408 million by the Department of Social Services, mostly for Medicaid spending on the HUSKY program and nursing homes.
• $257.4 million by the Department of Education to fund higher grant payments to towns
• $106.6 million in the Teachers Retirement Fund for pension obligations.

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

Learn more about the Connecticut Comptroller's Office by calling up our Internet Home Page, at the link below.

For Immediate Release
September 2, 2008

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