On October 4th I wrote "One Crisis that Did not Materialize", which discussed the fact that the fears of hundreds of billions of dollar losses from defualts in the municipal bond market proved wide of the mark. Many were skeptical. Here is the latest data.
The Rockefeller Institute's analysis of Census Bureau data found that preliminary data for the July-Aug period indicated that state revenues are up an average of 6.8% in the 41 states that reported early. In the second quarter, total state tax revenues increased by 10.8% year-over-year. This marked the sixth consecutive quarter of growth and the storngest annual figures since 2005.
Local governments are not doin gas well. Tax revenue has fell 1% in Q2 year-over-year and is the third consecutive quarterly decline. This is a sign of the depressing real estate market. Property taxes are nearly three quarters of local tax revenues. In contrast sales tax account for about 15% of local tax revenues.
A Follow Up to the Absence of a Muni Crisis in the US
![A Follow Up to the Absence of a Muni Crisis in the US]()
Reviewed by Marc Chandler
on
October 26, 2011
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