North Dakota lawmakers face a massive loss in revenue as they settle into week two of the 2017 legislative session.
Related: North Dakota's Taxable Sales Down 33%
The North Dakota House and Senate appropriations committees heard proposals last week for the coming two-year budget cycle. Details include:
- $146 million less in sales and use tax revenue that was included in former Gov. Dalrymple's executive budget from December
- Almost $3.7 billion in general fund revenues for the 2017-19 biennium (down 34 percent from the more than $5.5 billion projected for the current biennium)
- $1.1 billion less in general fund revenues than former Gov. Dalrymple's proposal
- A $67 million reduction in sales and use tax revenues from the December executive forecast
- Doesn't include a $200 million transfer from the Bank of North Dakota that was included in Dalrymple's budget.
“Sales tax is the one that hurts us. The biggest thing we need to take care of in this legislative session, from my standpoint, is making sure that the revenue that we expect we actually get.”
The forecast assumes an average oil price of $48 per barrel, a more conservative figure than Dalrymple's $52-53.
For the first quarter of 2016, the North Dakota's Tax Commissioner announced a 33 percent drop in taxable sales. Taxable sales and purchases are a key indicator of the economic activity in the North Dakota. This data has followed the pattern of decline that parallels the drop in low crude prices over the last 18 months.