For immediate release – July 23, 2020
LINCOLN — The following is a statement from OpenSky Policy Institute Executive Director Renee Fry regarding the projections made Thursday by the Nebraska Economic Forecasting Advisory Board:
“The forecasting board’s revised estimate for the current fiscal year should be met with an abundance of caution. The forecast was $145 million higher than the average projection made by the national forecasting experts. Furthermore, senators need to be aware that $255 million in income tax receipts that were received in July due to the tax filing extension are artificially inflating current year projections. This is one-time money and using it to fund ongoing spending will create a fiscal cliff for the following biennium and likely lead to future cuts. Senators would be wise to limit new spending now and re-evaluate things next January.”