More Bad News For Pa. Budget

By Tony Romeo

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) - The month of December had more bad news for Pennsylvania's beleaguered budget.

Pennsylvania's coffers are $487-million, or about 4%, below projections for the fiscal year to date. Revenues were almost 6% under projections for the month of December alone.

State Revenue Department spokeswoman Elizabeth Brassell says corporate tax revenues were the biggest culprit, "Corporate tax for the month of December came in $92.2-million under estimate, bringing the year-to-date collections to under estimate by about $260-million."

For the first six months of the fiscal year, corporate tax collections are 17.6% below projections. Governor Corbett's spokesman says the administration will say something soon about spending freezes to address the revenue shortfall. The governor has already decided that non-union state workers will forego a pay raise for another year.