There was less money coming in to the state last month from personal income taxes, but the budget department’s forecasts still appear to be on track to avoid cuts.
November’s personal income tax take was down only slightly, but the total tax take for the month was up more than 3 percent over forecasts. That was driven by other revenues such as the state’s main business tax and overall sales taxes, which were up more than 7 percent, the best performance for sales taxes in the two-year budget cycle. For the year, the personal income tax is up only a tenth of a point. But the state still has a surplus of $166 million, or just under 2 percent over estimates. The state has been running a surplus for 15 straight months.
