Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Ways and Means Committee Chair Herman D. Farrell, Jr., today released the Assembly Majority's annual Revenue and Economic Reports for New York State. The release of these documents is a key step in the Assembly's analysis of the state's fiscal standing and in the process of working with the Governor and the Senate to craft a timely and responsible budget.

The revenue report All Funds forecast for 2010-2011 is $1.2 billion less than the Executive, reflecting differing views of how the economic recovery will translate into future revenue growth. The low growth in revenues in the Assembly forecast reflects the impact of a slowly rebounding economy.

The report estimates total 2009-10 tax collections at $58.7 billion, a decrease of $1.7 billion from 2008-09.

"The worst decline in economic activity since the Great Depression may be over, but New York and other states continue to struggle. While employment losses are slowing and the housing market begins to stabilize, unemployment remains high and consumer spending growth remains slow," said Silver (D-Manhattan). "The Assembly remains dedicated to working with the Executive and the Senate to craft a budget that fulfills our commitments to education, health, economic development and public protection, while ensuring that the burden of cuts does not fall disproportionately on poor and working class families."

"While our economy continues to gradually rebuild, we must continue to make difficult choices in how we spend our resources to help ensure that all New Yorkers continue to have access to decent education, affordable health care and other essential services," said Farrell (D-Manhattan).

According to the economic report, the state's outlook for 2010 is gradually improving, but wage growth was harder hit during this recession than in previous recessions in 1991 and 2002 due to large losses in the high-paying finance sector.

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