Thursday, May 24, 2012
California's Facebook Windfall Falters?
Before Facebook's IPO, many had speculated how the Facebook IPO could bring a tremendous amount of tax revenues to the state. Gov. Brown even estimated that the IPO would generate between $1.4 billion and $1.9 billion in income taxes over the next 13 months from sales of Facebook stock.
This estimate was based on an IPO price of $35 per share.
On Friday when Facebook went public, it opened at $38, and then closed on Tuesday at $31.
The Legislative Analyst's Office projected tax revenues of around $1.6 billion, but this was estimated at an IPO of $38, followed by a projected growth to $45 after six months.
Regardless of Facebook's ultimate share price months from now, it is clear that one-time revenue increases or accounting tricks will not suffice to cure California's perennial budget woes.