ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman has released the state's closeout report for fiscal year 2024, which ended June 30.
According to the report, Maryland collected $24,862,788,789 in revenue, yet finished off with a general fund balance of just $1.060 billion.
However, those savings will soon be cut by more than half due to the General Assembly earmarking $581 million for projects in fiscal year 2025.
That means the state will really only have $479 million leftover in the general fund, despite making five percent more than in fiscal year 2023.
A good chunk of this year's revenue can be attributed to record high interest rate payments.
But the highest source of income for the state was generated through individual income and sales tax.
This years numbers represent a drastic drop compared to just a few years ago, when the state under then Governor Larry Hogan ended fiscal year 2021 with a $2.5 billion general fund surplus even as the state continued recovering from COVID-19.
“Total wage income growth has remained positive despite the slowdown in the economy,” said Robert J. Rehrmann, Director of the Bureau of Revenue Estimates. “However, taxable spending has slowed to a greater extent as reflected in the sales tax as well as lottery and casino revenues. This suggests that consumers may be reducing their discretionary purchases in response to inflation and economic uncertainty.”
Meanwhile, Maryland still has an additional $2.41 billion in reserves, thanks to the Rainy Day Fund.
To review where your tax dollars were spent this year, click here.
