Nebraska collected more state tax revenue than expected last month. The state Revenue Department reports net tax receipts of $546 million dollars in November, $40-million or 7.7% higher than the certified forecast for the month.
There was higher-than-expected net revenue from all 4 tax categories: individual income, corporate income, sales-and-use, and miscellaneous taxes.
Net individual income tax receipts for November were $351.9-million, $17.2-million or 5.1% over estimates while sales-and-use taxes came in at $174.3-million, up 13.5% or $20.7-million
Net corporate income tax revenue was only 3% or $210,000 over projections at $7.1-million with miscellaneous taxes totalling $12.3-million to top predictions by 10.5% or $6.9-million dollars.
Nebraska has collected $2.349 billion so far in the current fiscal year,1.7% more than expected, but there’s a little quirk in that because the Economic Forecasting Advisory Board didn’t make its certified forecast until the end of October.
That’s 4 months into the fiscal year and the board used the actual receipts for those 4 months. That means November is the first month with actual projections for income and the year-to-date surplus is strictly from November.
Policy Director Sarah Curry of the conservative Platte Institute says the state’s revenue picture couldn’t be better heading into next year’s legislative session and she doesn’t see the trend changing anytime soon.
Curry says “it’s no secret the state’s antiquated tax code is in need of an overhaul” and strong revenue can support reform efforts.
Senior Fiscal Analyst Craig Beck of the more liberal-leaning OpenSky Policy Institute is more cautious, pointing out that Nebraska’s overall state revenue picture is being bolstered by federal COVID relief and infrastructure funds.
Because of that, Beck says OpenSky continues to urge caution in spending since the state would face even tougher decisions when those funds end.