Tennessee reaped nearly $800 million more than budget estimates of tax collections during the first ten months of the fiscal year, state Finance Department officials said Friday.
The total for May tax collections on April activity was $41.3 million over estimates. Finance Commissioner Larry Martin said in a statement that the totals, primarily from sales taxes, “reflect significant improvement over this time last year.”
While business franchise and excise taxes fell short of May 2015 figures — as well as below last month’s budgeted estimate — “all other tax collections, taken as a group, were above the May estimate,” Martin said in his statement.
Year-to-date revenues for the first 10 ten months of the 2015-16 fiscal year are running a whopping $798.4 million more than estimates. The fiscal year ends June 30.
The general fund, which pays for most state government functions from public education to prisons, is $735.8 million above budgeted estimates for the year.
Four other funds, including the highway fund, which derives revenue from gas and diesel taxes, were $62.6 million more than the budgeted estimate for the year.
Sales tax collections, Tennessee government’s main source of revenue, were (continue reading)