Last week, we published an article that addressed South Dakota’s lawsuit over the state’s ability to tax internet sales made by vendors that lack a physical presence in the state. Whether states will finally be able to capture those otherwise lost tax revenues is now in the United States Supreme Court’s hands.
In addition to the dearth of sales tax revenues with which states are contending, our article also discussed the volatility of revenue streams that compounds already precarious fiscal situations. We pointed to an October 2014 Pew Charitable Trusts article, “Volatile Income Tax Revenue Stumps States,” which asserted that even though some states’ tax collections have recovered somewhat since the recession, and in fact are expected to rise, this growth “is anemic compared to years preceding the recession.”