$438.5 Million Revenue Shortfall as Virginia Fiscal Year Ends

Virginia finished the 2014 fiscal year with $438.5 less revenue than anticipated, marking a 1.6 percent drop from last year and the first revenue drop outside of a national downturn.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) announced the news Thursday but did not say whether the shortfall would lead to budget cuts.

State officials anticipated the drop due to lower-than-expected tax revenues from capital gains like stock market investments and real estate. The two-year budget that ended in June included sufficient balances that will cover the revenue deficit, The Washington Post reports, so Virginia is not "in the red" just yet.

The money being used to fill the deficit would have rolled over into the new two-year budget that began July 1. State officials took this loss into account when determining Virginia's new two-year budget would have to project a $1.5 billion shortfall.