(The Center Square) – According to the Mississippi Department of Revenue, tax revenues outpaced estimates, both for November and the fiscal year.
For November, revenues exceeded estimates made in April by $571,498 or 0.11%. For the fiscal year, which began in July 1, revenues are up by $75 million over the estimate or an increase of 2.6%.
Revenues are down $42 million compared to the same period last year and a big part of that is the state’s income tax cut that was signed into law by Gov. Tate Reeves in 2022. Tax receipts for the first five months of the fiscal year add up to nearly $3 billion, down from the $3.04 billion in fiscal 2023.
Revenue from the state’s income tax so far this fiscal year adds up to $954 million, down 11.09% from last year, when it was $1.07 billion. For the month, income tax revenues are down $12 million compared to the prior year.
This reduction will shrink the state’s graduated income tax to a flat 4% rate.
The biggest growth in revenue was the state’s 7% sales tax. Revenue for November was $20.8 million above estimates ($1.19 billion) and is up $68.8 million for the fiscal year, an increase of $50.6 million over last year’s numbers ($1.14 billion). In November, sales tax revenues grew by $20 million compared to the same time last year.
Another gainer was the state’s 7% use tax on out-of-state purchases. This year, the tax has generated $161 million in revenue, an increase of 4.25% over last year’s tally of nearly $155 million.
Taxes on the state’s medical marijuana dispensaries saw shrinking returns, as revenue was down 28.62%, shrinking from $6.51 million in fiscal 2023 to $4.65 million in fiscal 2024.
Also down was the state’s gaming tax, which declined 3.15% for the fiscal year, with $63.8 million in revenue compared to $65.9 million in the first five months of fiscal 2023.