(The Center Square) – Tennessee has now collected $2 billion more than budgeted in taxes and fees for the first 10 months of the fiscal year.
The state collected $1.6 billion in May, which was $117 million more than budgeted but fell short of May 2022 collections.
“Several state tax revenue sources saw positive growth compared to May of last year, however total revenues for the month were $18.6 million less than May 2022 and overall growth was negative 1.16 percent,” said Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson.
The largest tax category, sales tax, brought in $1.16 billion in May compared to the $1.04 billion estimate and the $1.14 billion collected in May 2022.
Franchise and excise taxes, meanwhile, fell $8 million short of budgeted estimates and $33 million short of May 2022.
“May revenues exceeded the budgeted monthly estimate, and sales tax collections, fuel taxes, and business tax proceeds all continued to grow during the month,” Bryson said. “Corporate tax revenues, which are represented in franchise and excise taxes, were short of budgeted estimates, however they continue to show positive growth for the year. Because corporate tax revenues fluctuate more than other tax revenues, we will closely monitor these trends in the months ahead.”
Privilege taxes were $23.3 million less than the May estimate and decreased 34% from May 2022.
The Tennessee Legislature adopted adjusted estimates along with its budget on April 20 that included additional $2.7 billion, meaning the state still needs to beat the budget by $700 million over the final two months of the fiscal year to hit the mark.
