Report : NYS Tax Revenue Lower Than Expected

New York, NY —

A new report indicates New York State will see even less revenue from sales and income taxes than expected. Karen DeWitt has more from Albany.

REPORTER: Suny Rockefeller institute finds that the depressed holiday season led to an over six present decline in sales tax revenues, the largest drop in the 50 years that the audits have been conducted.

Rockefeller's Robert Ward says preliminary numbers for the first quarter of 2009 show that sales tax collections continue to be significantly below last year's numbers, because people have cut back drastically on their spending.

WARD: Many people have been losing their jobs or having their hours scaled back, or they're going without raises .

REPORTER: Ward says researchers have also found personal income tax revenues are also declining by as much as $2 billion - an ominous sign for New York. he predicts that the recently completed state budget will have to be reopened, and more savings found. In Albany, I'm Karen DeWitt.