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Upcoming state revenue forecast could shine light on tax cut debate

Brandon Smith/IPB News

Indiana lawmakers will debate whether to cut taxes during the upcoming 2022 legislative session. And a state revenue forecast unveiled next week will likely play a major role in that discussion.

Through the first five months of the current fiscal year, Indiana has collected $647 million more than the state budget needs. And that’s on the heels of the last fiscal year, when the state generated budget reserves of nearly $4 billion, triggering an automatic taxpayer refund.

Those lofty revenues have lawmakers contemplating permanent tax cuts. Senate Republican leaders have expressed some hesitance to do so in 2022. They point out that a huge influx of federal funds over the last year or so make it harder to predict when state tax revenues will settle back to normal.

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A new state revenue forecast might provide more clarity to that question. The projections unveiled Thursday will reveal how much money lawmakers should expect the state to collect in the current budget cycle. And if that forecast is particularly rosy, a tax cut could be coming soon.

Contact reporter Brandon at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

Brandon Smith is excited to be working for public radio in Indiana. He has previously worked in public radio as a reporter and anchor in mid-Missouri for KBIA Radio out of Columbia. Prior to that, he worked for WSPY Radio in Plano, Illinois as a show host, reporter, producer and anchor. His first job in radio was in another state capitol, in Jefferson City, Missouri, as a reporter for three radio stations around Missouri. Brandon graduated from the University of Missouri-Columbia with a Bachelor of Journalism in 2010, with minors in political science and history. He was born and raised in Chicago.