Report Suggests Minnesota Budget Surplus Continues to Grow

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St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News) - The most recent state revenue update shows tax collections in February and March beat expectations by a wide margin.

The Minnesota Office of Management and Budget says net general revenues for the two months exceeded $3.3 billion. That is $563 million or over 20 percent above the amount predicted by the state revenue forecast that was updated in February.

Much of the better than expected revenue total was due to individual income tax payments, which came in a bit above $1.47 billion, or more $322 million higher than forecast. Corporate tax payments exceeded the projection by over $170 million and general sales tax revenues were $31 million above the forecast.

The report notes the economic outlook for the U.S. economy has improved in the weeks since the February state revenue forecast was released. It says the nation's gross domestic product is projected to rise 6.2 percent this year and 4.3 percent in 2022. Stronger than expected consumer spending and the faster-than-expected rollout of COVID-19 vaccines were credited for the improvement.

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