DALLAS — Kansas revenues in August trailed projections by 1%, or $4 million, but ran $10.3 million higher than the same month in 2013, Kansas Secretary of Revenue Nick Jordan said.
The revenue figures come in the wake of tax cuts passed by the Kansas Legislature at the urging of Gov. Sam Brownback. The year-to-year increase is an indication that either more Kansans are working or they are earning higher wages, Jordan said.
Sales tax receipts beat estimates by $1.6 million. Because sales tax receipts are reported the month after being collected, August is the first month where sales tax receipts can be compared year-over-year using the same rate. The state sales tax rate decreased July 1, 2013 from 6.3% to 6.15%.
For the fiscal year to date, Kansas is 0.3% or $2.4 million below projections.
"Corporate income tax receipts continue a strong trend, along with individual income tax, sales tax, and mineral severance tax receipts are all higher than August of last year. These are positive indicators for a growing Kansas economy," Jordan said.
Paul Davis, state House minority leader and Democratic opponent to Republican incumbent Brownback in the November election, said the August numbers are part of a continuing negative trend.
"Every month, Sam Brownback's experiment drives the Kansas budget deeper in the red," Davis said.
