Both SB 462 and HB 1505 disregard the fact that the Census Bureau has not produced such annual figures for 15 years. SB 462 repeats verbatim the text quoted above. Any law that intends to use PCI as part of an annually updated distribution formula must designate a source of such data other than the U.S. Bureau of the Census. DRA did establish a method to create the required numbers each year. IRS data is reported on the basis of zip codes from which taxpayers file, not municipal boundaries.
Some taxpayers file from other addresses than their town of residence.
Limitations inherent in the data and the process are probably partly responsible. While the method used had its weaknesses, it was certainly the best that could be done with the data that were available. The problem remained that the weaknesses in the data were not understood. Thus, although computed with mathematical precision, the amount of state school aid distributed to a particular town could have been considerably more or less than the town s true income resources would have required. This was especially true for the small towns.