x
Breaking News
More () »

Michigan projects 'staggering' drop in tax revenues

Legislative experts and top officials in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration agreed to revised budget estimates Friday.
Credit: AP
FILE - This Dec. 12, 2012, file photo shows the state capitol building in Lansing, Mich. Michigan's tax revenues this fiscal year will plummet between $3.1 billion and $3.6 billion below prior estimates due to the coronavirus pandemic, economists said Thursday, May 14, 2020, and are projected to fall billions of dollars short in the next budget year, too. The numbers were released ahead of a Friday meeting at which nonpartisan legislative experts and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's administration will try to get a handle on the budget outlook two months after the crisis hit the state. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio, File)

LANSING, Mich. — Michigan will confront multibillion-dollar declines in tax revenue combined with record-high enrollment in government health insurance programs. 

It's a double whammy from the coronavirus pandemic that may lead to major service cuts. 

Legislative experts and top officials in Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s administration agreed to revised budget estimates Friday. 

The steep downward revision from revenue estimates issued just four months ago — nearly $6.3 billion this combined fiscal year and next — is unprecedented.  In numbers released Thursday, economists project Michigan’s tax revenues this fiscal year will plummet between $3.1 billion and $3.6 billion below prior estimates due to the coronavirus pandemic.

PREVIOUS: Economists project billion-dollar Michigan budget shortfalls

The Whitmer administration is calling on Congress to send aid to the state, noting it happened during the Great Recession. 

One-third of the workforce has filed for unemployment benefits at a time schools and businesses are closed and travel is restricted to curb the spread of COVID-19. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Labor, Michigan has the second-highest unemployment rate in country behind California.

13 ON YOUR SIDE contributed to this reporting. 

RELATED VIDEO:

MORE on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:

Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.

Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.

Before You Leave, Check This Out