RI's Revenue Estimating Conference Paints Bleak Picture

RI's Revenue Estimating Conference Paints Bleak Picture

The May Revenue Estimating Conference held this week in Rhode Island revealed that budget experts predict the state's two-year revenue forecast will be $800 million less than anticipated. 

“FY20 foodservice/accommodation spending goes down by 17% in the forecast, the durable goods portion goes down by 3.5%…we’e trying to capture those declines…with a bad couple of months coming up,” said Stephen Whitney, Senate Fiscal Advisor remotely. 

Video of the conference can be found on the state Capitol TV web channels. 

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A graph shared during the conference predicts that consumption expenditures for durable goods and food service, and accommodations will start to rebound in the summer after all spending fell off during the lockdown — and spending on clothing and footwear will come back as well — but not to pre-coronavirus levels until 2021. 

The state had been “averaging over 9% over the prior year,” according to House Fiscal advisor Sharon Renyolds Ferland regarding the state’s taxation income — before the coronavirus crisis. 

New estimates show state general revenue is projected to drop to $3.9 billion in the Fiscal Year 2020, down from $4.02 billion Fiscal Year 2019. 

The Fiscal Year 2021 revenue expectations have now been reset to $3.7 billion.