STATE TAX REVENUES continued to surge in September, exceeding forecasts by state officials and far surpassing what the state has taken in during the same month in previous years.
The Department of Revenue said preliminary revenue collections for September were $3.992 billion – 27 percent higher than actual collections in September 2020 and 14.3 percent higher than forecast.
The September revenue figure was easily the highest level it has been in a decade and $769 million more than the previous high in 2018.
The strong tax revenues come as the state is already rolling in cash from the federal government and more could be on the way if Congress succeeds in passing an infrastructure bill. A constitutional amendment is headed for the ballot next year that would boost revenues higher by adding a 4 percent tax on income over $1 million.
According to the Revenue Department, September is a significant month for revenues, with roughly 10 percent of annual revenue coming in on average during the month.
Geoffrey Snyder, the revenue commissioner, said in a statement that all major tax types saw increases in September compared to last year, largely because of improving labor market conditions, “continued strength in retail sales,” and the easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
According to Snyder, sales and use tax collections were nearly 1 percent above the state’s forecast, while meals tax collections were 14.1 percent above the benchmark, and corporate and business tax collections were 33 percent above.
For the first three months of the fiscal year, revenues totaled $8.751 billion, which was nearly 21 percent higher than last year and 6.4 percent above the state’s forecast.