Report: State Tax Revenues Run Below Budget in August

Listen:

State tax revenues were $5.4 million below budget in August, because of "continued weak performance" in sales tax revenues and lower corporate income tax collections, the legislative budget report said Monday.

Revenues missed the budget figure by 0.8 percent for the month, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee reported. It said that through the first two months of the fiscal year, revenues were 2.4 percent ahead of budget.

The report said data "should be viewed with caution" because the state has switched to a new accounting system with which there have been start-up problems. The new system has not allowed the state Department of Administration to report spending figures for state agencies since the fiscal year began July 1.

Sales tax revenues were 2.5 percent ahead of the budget, at $353.7 million. Corporate income tax collections were reported at $6.5 million, a 54.6 percent decline to budget, the report said.

The state's budget stabilization fund, better known as the "rainy day" fund, had a balance of $458.2 million at the end of August, the report said.

The state finished last fiscal year with a $325 million surplus, and that led to cancellation of a planned transfer of $125 million from the fund intended to balance the budget.