Forecast projects a $329 million budget surplus
The following statement was delivered by Governor Mark Dayton following this announcement.
“Today’s Budget Forecast is good news for Minnesota. It projects budget surpluses for both the current biennium, Fiscal Years 2018-19, and the next biennium, Fiscal Years 2020-21.
“However, those projected surpluses are modest: $329 million in this biennium and $251 million in the next. And, they are only projections, which are certain to change, especially for the 20-21 biennium.
“They should caution all of us that any changes to current tax laws and expenditure commitments need to have minimal net effects, particularly since any ongoing changes would double their fiscal impact in the next, two-year biennium, compared to the one remaining year of the current biennium.
“Further caution is required, because the state's Macroeconomic Consultant, IHS Markit, predicts that, after the temporary boost to the national economy provided by the federal government’s massive tax cut and spending increase, both real GDP growth and consumer spending, will recede to below their previous forecasts for 2020 and 2021.
“Our Department of Revenue and Minnesota Management and Budget will spend the next several days refining their preliminary tax and spending estimates, based on this new forecast. I will then use their revised estimates to prepare my own Supplemental Budget Request, which I expect to issue on March 15th.
“Like the Legislature, I will have to compress what I would like to do into what I believe we can do, given these limiting fiscal realities.”
To listen to audio of the Governor’s remarks following the announcement,
click here.