Tax collections for the first month of the fiscal year show Missouri’s economy continues to slowly build. A key indicator is sales tax collections, which are up almost 15 percent although state budget director Linda Luebbering says the percentage is misleading because some of the funds are carryovers from June. Luebbering says total tax income for July went up almost 12 percent—although $39-million of that is from the national mortgage settlement. Without that amount, the tax collections showed only a three percent increase.
The one weakness she spotted in the figures is in income tax collections–down about three-and-a-half percent from July of last year.
State government had to dip into its savings account to the tune of $100 million in the first month of the fiscal year to make sure it had enough money to pay its bills. Luebbering says it’s not unusual for the state to have to borrow from itself a few times each year to meet tax flow needs. she says, “Our expenses are spread evenly throughout the year; our revenue is not,” she says.
The state dipped into its reserves for $325 million in the last fiscal year but paid it all back by the end of April, as required by law.
AUDIO: july 5:39