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Ohio Ends Fiscal Year With $800 Million Surplus
By: Associated Press
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Ohio has ended its budget year as expected with a nearly $800 million surplus, money set aside to fund tax breaks and any unexpected Medicaid expenses coming from federal health care reform.
State budget director Tim Keen said Wednesday Ohio beat projections for the fourth consecutive fiscal year through spending cuts and better-than-expected tax revenues. Overall, revenues lagged the previous year because of tax cuts in Gov. John Kasich's current two-year budget.
Besides $300 million earmarked for a Medicaid reserve, the funds will pay for: $76 million in tax credits for low- and middle-income Ohioans; $91 million in accelerated income-tax cuts; and $229 million for expanded income-tax breaks for small-business owners.
What's left carries over to the new fiscal year that began Tuesday.