The state has released its report on tax revenue collections in October and it’s another month where the gross was below last year and forecast. The report says a big part of the drop can be blamed on a quirk in payroll timing, but the important sales tax figure remains stagnant.
The state collected $442.5 million in October, $15.1 million below last year and $8.9 million below forecast. But the report from the state said a drop in individual income tax collections of $10.7 million was “largely as a result of calendar effects from payroll timing.”
Sales and use tax collections were $171.3 million, or $1.1 million less than last year and $8.3 million below forecast.
None of this bodes well for much better than a flat budget next year. That big income tax cut Republicans want to give the wealthy doesn’t seem to be likely to be paid for by growing sales tax revenue, as many of them have hoped.
UPDATE: A spokesman for the governor noted that revenue was higher than expected last month because of the timing anomaly and the downturn this month was expected.”So overall, we seem to be staying on track with the forecast,” Matt DeCample said. For the first four months, the state is 2.9 percent ahead of last year in net revenue and 1.3 percent above forecast.