LOS ANGELES - California revenues for February beat projections by $968.9 million, or 20.9%,
Chiang said strong retail sales and personal income tax withholdings drove the higher-than-projected February receipts.
"How we conserve and invest during the upswings of California's notorious boom-or-bust revenue cycles will determine how critical programs - such as public safety and education - will weather the next economic dip," the controller said in a statement. "With fiscal discipline and a focus on slashing debt, we can make California more recession-resistant and prosperity a more enduring hallmark of our state."
In the monthly report covering the state's cash balance, receipts, and disbursements, Chiang found that income tax receipts exceeded estimates in Gov. Jerry Brown's 2014-15 proposed budget by $721.7 million, or 45.7%.
Corporate tax receipts came in above projections by $87.4 million, or 236.2%. Sales and use taxes were ahead of estimates by $113.7 million, or 3.9%.
The report also found that the state ended the month with a general fund cash deficit of $14.1 billion, which was covered with both internal and external borrowing.
That amount is down from last year, when the state had a cash deficit of $16.2 billion at the end of February.
