State Revenues Top Expectations in Fourth Quarter

The latest quarterly budget update by the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget indicates overall state revenues were $235 million dollars higher than predicted during the three-month period that ended June 30th.

That was surprising, seeing as the four previous monthly revenue updates from the department showed tax collections coming in below projections. The quarterly report says individual income tax payments were almost 2-percent higher than expected, and general sales tax collections were slightly above projections for the three-month period.

For the fiscal year, the report says the state took in about $19.2 billion, which was almost $170 million dollars above the level predicted in the revenue forecast released in February. That works out to a 7.3-percent increase in the state’s general fund revenues when compared to fiscal year 2013.

State officials caution the report is preliminary and the books on fiscal year 2014 won’t be closed until mid August.

Click here to view the report.