(The Center Square) – During the first nine months of 2020, state tax revenues in Illinois came in at 7.8 percent above the same period a year earlier, the second biggest increase among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the Tax Foundation.
Comparing just the second and third quarters of 2020 with the same period a year earlier, the state tax revenues in Illinois were 3.2 percent higher. This time period reflected the first six months when the coronavirus pandemic was in full swing in the United States.
Nationwide, state tax collections from January through September were down 4.4 percent – or a total of $37.4 billion – compared to the 2019 revenues, the Tax Foundation reported. Local revenues, however, were up $29.8 billion in 2020 over the same period in 2019, revealing the stability of local tax sources such as the property tax and, in some cases, the sales tax, the study found.
A total of 10 states recorded higher revenue collections during the first three quarters of 2020, while such revenues were down by double digits in nine states during the same period.
The Paycheck Protection Program, as well as $535 billion in federal aid to state and local governments, helped to maintain employment levels and income tax revenues during the pandemic, the Tax Foundation study concluded.
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State Tax Revenue Changes in First 9 Months of 2020
Rank | State | Quarters 1 to 3 of 2020 | Quarters 2 & 3 |
1 | Alaska | -25.80% | -28.70% |
2 | Connecticut | -25.40% | -36.90% |
3 | North Dakota | -22.70% | -37.40% |
4 | Hawaii | -16.70% | -26.00% |
5 | Washington | -15.60% | -27.00% |
6 | Iowa | -13.60% | -20.70% |
7 | Massachusetts | -12.60% | -19.40% |
8 | New Mexico | -11.70% | -14.40% |
9 | Michigan | -11.60% | -3.30% |
10 | Maryland | -9.30% | -15.00% |
11 | Wyoming | -9.00% | -8.50% |
12 | West Virginia | -8.50% | -11.90% |
13 | Wisconsin | -8.20% | -13.00% |
14 | Florida | -8.00% | -13.80% |
15 | Texas | -7.20% | -11.80% |
16 | Oklahoma | -7.00% | -9.20% |
17 | Arizona | -6.30% | -7.80% |
18 | Rhode Island | -6.00% | -11.10% |
19 | New Jersey | -5.70% | -9.50% |
20 | Oregon | -5.00% | -4.00% |
21 | District of Columbia | -4.50% | -7.50% |
22 | Minnesota | -4.20% | -5.70% |
23 | Nevada | -4.20% | -8.00% |
24 | Pennsylvania | -4.00% | -7.10% |
25 | Utah | -3.90% | -9.10% |
26 | California | -3.60% | -6.90% |
27 | South Dakota | -3.10% | -7.30% |
28 | New York | -2.70% | -7.00% |
29 | New Hampshire | -2.30% | -5.40% |
30 | Louisiana | -1.90% | -4.20% |
31 | Missouri | -1.60% | -4.20% |
32 | Virginia | -1.50% | -4.00% |
33 | Mississippi | -0.90% | -3.10% |
34 | Colorado | -0.80% | -3.00% |
35 | Indiana | -0.60% | -3.70% |
36 | Kansas | -0.50% | -5.70% |
37 | South Carolina | -0.40% | -3.30% |
38 | Delaware | 0.00% | -1.30% |
38 | Ohio | 0.00% | -2.60% |
40 | North Carolina | 0.10% | -1.10% |
41 | Kentucky | 0.40% | -2.20% |
42 | Maine | 1.20% | -0.90% |
43 | Georgia | 1.60% | -0.30% |
44 | Tennessee | 2.30% | -1.50% |
45 | Montana | 2.90% | -0.70% |
46 | Nebraska | 3.20% | 0.10% |
47 | Vermont | 4.40% | 1.50% |
48 | Alabama | 4.50% | 3.60% |
49 | Arkansas | 6.40% | 6.80% |
50 | Illinois | 7.80% | 3.20% |
51 | Idaho | 12.20% | 10.20% |
Source: Tax Foundation