Forecast of tax receipts will help shape next budget

NDIANAPOLIS -- This week, the State Budget Agency expects to receive the forecast of state tax receipts for the next two years.

It's a moment that lawmakers and special interest groups await anxiously before every long session of the General Assembly, when the House and Senate write the next budget.

Formation of the two-year spending plan depends on what the bipartisan forecasting group predicts about the sales, individual income and corporate taxes.

If the news is good, if the group projects that the economy is humming along and therefore tax receipts will be up, then lawmakers know they'll have cash to launch some new programs, like state-funded full-day kindergarten, or to boost spending in areas like higher education.

A strong forecast means the state might have cash to soften the blow of projected increases in property taxes or there might be more money for schools.

Read more on the Indiana State Budget at the Courier-Journal.