LINCOLN — The State of Nebraska received good fiscal news Friday as net receipts for August came in 2.7 percent above forecast.
That’s only the third time in a year that state tax revenues — which pay for state services — have come in above projections, according to State Tax Commissioner Doug Ewald.
“One month doesn’t mean a trend, but at this point in time, I’d rather see us hit a forecast than miss one,” Ewald said.
All categories of taxes, including the two big ones, sales and income taxes, were up in August.
Corporate income taxes were up by 825 percent, which was attributed to lower than expected refunds to companies through state incentive programs and a jump in corporate profits.
“Corporations have really hunkered down, they’ve gotten more efficient in this downturn,” Ewald said. “They’ve laid off bodies, cut expenses. ... Their bottom lines look good. I see that continuing for the foreseeable future.”
State tax receipts have taken a hit in recent months because of the recession, and officials have said that such receipts usually recover a few months after the general economy improves.
State legislators are bracing for big cuts in spending in the 2011 session because, overall, the state faces a projected $751 million gap between tax revenue and spending.
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402-473-9584, paul.hammel@owh.com
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