Raising revenue amid the recent budget crisis State government tax revenues across the country declined dramatically following the Great Recession: between the middle of 2008 and 2009, real tax collections fell 18 percent. Declining revenues and increasing demands on public services combined to create extremely large budget gaps. With a very slow economic recovery, state budget gaps have persisted. The projected gap in Rhode Island is an estimated $117 million for 2013; for all states it is $47 billion. .
