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Republican Tax Credit Shrinks

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A Republican-sponsored tax credit will be so small this year that many taxpayers may not even notice it.     

The GOP’s Taxpayer Trust Fund takes budget surpluses and refunds it in credits across the board which amounted to about 50 dollars per taxpayer last year.       Dave Reynolds with the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency says there’s a lot less to refund this year.

“We're looking at a tax credit of 14 to 15 or 16 dollars,” Reynolds says.  “We won’t see any new money   coming into the economic emergency fund into the taxpayers trust fund for fiscal years 15 or 16.”

Reynolds says money goes into the Taxpayer Trust Fund only when there’s been revenue growth, and that hasn’t been happening lately.

“In fiscal year 15 for sure there has not been that revenue growth,” Reynolds says, “so the taxpayer trust fund won't get an allocation from the economic  emergency fund."

Reynolds says that’s because of the lack of growth in tax receipts across the board this year.  Some Democrats object that the state will spend about 30 million dollars this year providing the tiny tax credit even to high-income taxpayers.