Senator Steve Oroho, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, issued the following statement regarding the decline in revenue from the state sales tax:

            “Based on revenue data released by the Department of the Treasury, sales tax collections are off by 6.7 percent through the month of November. The FY 2010 budget signed in June predicted gains of 5 percent.  The corporate business tax is also experiencing a significant decline.

            “These numbers are certainly troubling.  It is imperative that the governor release his list of budget savings to the people of the state. It would be reckless to further delay the release of the cuts submitted by his department heads.

            “The hole in the current budget could be more than $1 billion.  The size of this deficit is unprecedented and requires swift and decisive action from Governor Corzine.

            “Next year’s structural budget deficit might approach $10 billion. This is an exceptional shortfall that will require considerable savings to balance the FY 2011 budget.”