State Sees A Rare Surge In Inheritance Taxes
But the overall outlook for tax collections in the years ahead is mostly unchanged.
The state is benefiting from a one-time bump in inheritance taxes this fiscal year, but a panel of experts is predicting somewhat slower growth in overall state tax collections in the years ahead.
The state Council on Revenues, a committee tasked with projecting state tax collections, is projecting general fund tax collections will grow from about $9.57 billion last fiscal year to nearly $10.2 billion in the year that ends on June 30.
That faster-than-expected growth in tax collections this year means the state general treasury will have about $280 million more than Gov. Josh Green’s administration expected in December when they prepared the administration’s proposed budget for the next two years.
That extra cash will give Green and lawmakers a bit more room to maneuver when the Legislature reconvenes next week.
The extra tax collections for this fiscal year came from a sudden, unexplained $315 million surge in state inheritance taxes late last year. Taxpayer information is confidential, and state tax officials are not disclosing the exact source or sources of that unusual windfall for the state.
Longer term, the council is predicting overall state tax collections to decline slightly to about $10 billion in the fiscal year that begins July 1, and then bounce back the following year to about $10.3 billion the following year.
