by Derrick Max
To be clear, there is no evidence that Virginia’s professional forecasters manipulated the numbers. The Commonwealth has earned a well-deserved reputation for responsible revenue forecasting, and when collections exceed expectations, forecasts should be updated accordingly. In fact, the Jefferson Forum has noted how Virginia’s economy is more resilient to federal changes than it once was, and the forecasts have become overly pessimistic by not taking this fact into account.
But the coincidence on the amount of revenue added in the reforecast should not obscure a more important question: what kind of additional revenue are we talking about?
Just as Governor Spanberger and the General Assembly appeared deadlocked over how to fund competing budget priorities, Virginia’s latest revenue reforecast requested by Governor Spanberger arrived with welcome news: roughly $1.5 billion in additional projected revenue through Fiscal Year 2028.
The timing and the reforecast increase in revenue are both remarkable.
