NJ Tax Revenues Lag Behind Christie Projections

New Jersey tax collections are not growing as fast as the state projected through the first quarter of the fiscal year.

The Treasury Department reported Friday that revenues for the quarter are up 1.9 percent over last year. That's far short of the 7-plus percent growth on which the state's fiscal year 2013 budget was built.

The current state budget will have to be cut if collections of income, sales and other taxes don't pick up to meet the administration's targets. The constitution prohibits the state from running in the red.

Tax collections for September were up 3.9 percent over last year.

Sen. Paul Sarlo of Bergen County, who chairs the Budget Committee, says the $175 million year-to-date shortage has the potential to become a billion-dollar hole.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)