Identification of amounts subject to recoupment. If a recipient government (i) reports covered changes that reduce tax revenue (Step 1); (ii) to a degree greater than the de minimis (Step 2); (iii) has experienced a reduction in net tax revenue (Step 3); and (iv) lacks sufficient revenue from other, permissible sources to pay for the entirety of the reduction (Step 4), then the recipient government will be considered to have used Fiscal Recovery Funds to offset a reduction in net tax revenue, up to the amount that revenue has actually declined. That is, the maximum value of reduction in revenue due to covered changes which a recipient government must cover is capped at the difference between the baseline and actual tax revenue.169 In the event that the baseline is above actual tax revenue and the difference between them is less than the sum of revenue reducing changes that are not paid for with other, permissible sources, organic revenue growth has implicitly offset a portion of the reduction. For example, if a recipient government reduces tax revenue by $1 billion, makes no other changes, and experiences revenue growth driven by organic economic growth worth $500 million, it need only pay for the remaining $500 million with sources other than Fiscal Recovery Funds. The revenue reduction cap implements this 169 This cap is applied in § 35.8(c) of the interim final rule, calculating the amount of funds used in violation of the tax offset provision. approach for permitting organic revenue growth to cover the cost of tax cuts. Finally, as discussed further in Section IV of this SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION, a recipient government may request reconsideration of any amounts identified as subject to recoupment under this framework. This process ensures that all relevant facts and circumstances, including information regarding planned spending cuts and budgeting assumptions, are considered prior to a determination that an amount must be repaid. Amounts subject to recoupment are calculated on an annual basis; amounts recouped in one year cannot be returned if the State or territory subsequently reports an increase in net tax revenue. To facilitate the implementation of the framework above, and in addition to reporting required on eligible uses, in each year of the reporting period, each State and territory will report to Treasury the following items: • Actual net tax revenue for the reporting year; • Each revenue-reducing change made to date during the covered period and the in-year value of each change; • Each rev...
