Tax collections up $124M for February, $774M for FY23

Provided by Hannah News Service 

Surplus tax revenue for FY23 now totals nearly three-quarters of a billion dollars after another over-estimate month for collections in February, according to preliminary data from the Office of Budget and Management (OBM). 

February tax collections exceeded $2 billion versus expectations of $1.9 billion, an increase of $124.1 million or 6.5% over estimates. 

Sales taxes made up the bulk of the additional revenue, coming in $67.5 million or 7.8% ahead of expectations. The non-auto sales tax was up $54.1 million or 7.3% compared to the forecast, while the auto sales tax was up $13.3 million or 10.%. 

The income tax yielded $36.2 million or 12.8 percent more than expected for February, while the Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) missed expectations by 1.7 percent or $7.4 million. 

So far this fiscal year, tax revenues total $18.75 billion compared to expectations of $17.97 billion, an increase of $774 million or 4.3%. Income taxes make up the bulk of that surplus, coming in 6.8% or $433.5 million ahead of forecasts for FY23 to date. 

Compared to this point a year ago, tax collections are up by more than $1 billion or 5.9% for the fiscal year. February tax collections were up $132 million or 6.9% compared to the same month in FY22.