Statewide Iowa — (RI) — A three member panel says it is too soon to calculate what, if any, impact the coronavirus pandemic may have on state tax revenue.
Dave Roederer, the governor’s budget director, is on the panel.
(as said) “I think everybody in the world would like to know what the final outcome is going to be,” Roederer says, “but we aren’t going to know that until it happens, I guess.”
Legislative Services Agency director Holly Lyons says these are unprecedented times.
(as said)”Much of the news is not good, however I do want to be clear that the sky is not falling,” Lyons says. “It’s a little cloudier than usual, but Iowa currently has a stable, albeit slowly growing economy and the state’s financial position is sound.”
David Underwood, a businessman from Clear Lake, is the public member of the Revenue Estimating Conference. He says the fundamentals of the economy are solid.
(as said) “I haven’t seen anybody, at least in north Iowa, take down a ‘Help Wanted’ sign yet,” Underwood says. “There’s still plenty of those out there for anybody that wants to be employed.”
The panel actually raised their estimate of state tax collections for the current state fiscal year by 76 million dollars. The group did reduce its guess for the NEXT state budgeting year by 12 million dollars, However, lawmakers who’ll use these figures to craft next year’s state budget will have a more than eight-point-two BILLION dollar total to work with. Underwood says there will be an impact at some point, with as much fear as there is about Covid-19.
(as said) “It still hasn’t really impacted Iowa yet. We don’t know the extent it’s going to,” Underwood says. “If it really becomes a pandemic in the United States, our numbers are going to be too high.”
Lyons admitted to being a bit stressed out, but she says the group is doing the best it can with the information it has.
(as said) “Yes, there’s fear, but there is no need to panic at this time,” Lyons says.
If the economy does slip, the group will reconvene. Any new estimate of state tax receipts that the panel might make would have an impact on state budgeting decisions.
