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The New York State Division of the Budget announced this week the release of the FY 2021 First Quarterly State Budget Financial Plan Update (PDF), which projects a $14.5 billion General Fund revenue decline and a 15.3% All Funds tax receipts decline from the Budget forecast released in February, creating a total loss of $62 billion through FY 2024 as a direct consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. The $14.5 billion projected revenue decline for FY 2021 represents a $1.2 billion decline from revenue estimates made in April in the Enacted Budget Financial Plan. In the absence of Federal funding to offset this revenue loss, the Financial plan shows the State reduced spending through June by nearly $4 billion compared to FY 2020 spending over the same period. The State has done this by freezing hiring, new contracts and pay raises, and temporarily holding back 20% of payments.