COVID-19 downturn continues to eat away SC budget estimates

COLUMBIA, SC (AP) – A cautious group of economists has decided to cut the amount of taxes, fees and other revenues South Carolina expects to collect this budget year by about $52 million in large part because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Before the pandemic, the economists predicted South Carolina would have more than $800 million extra to spend. Now, that number is cut to about $86 million. But South Carolina isn’t as close to teetering on the brink of a big budget problem as the new estimate by itself might indicate.

The state also has $775 million additional in reserves, much of it saved from the past two budget years.