Kentucky's General Fund tax receipts for July, the first month of fiscal year 2012, were more than $638 million, a 6.9 percent increase compared to July 2010 figures. "Kentucky has seen a strengthening of General Fund revenue collections for the past five quarters and the Commonwealth’s economic recovery is continuing into the new fiscal year," state Budget Director Mary Lassiter said in a press release Wednesday. “The Consensus Forecasting Group last week affirmed that revenue growth is ahead of pace by predicting that General Fund receipts will exceed the budgeted levels by $192.0 million,” she said. “While we are cautiously optimistic about the revenue outlook, we still have a challenge ahead to balance the budget this fiscal year.”
Among the major accounts:
? Individual income taxes grew 11.5 percent.
? Sales tax revenues were up 6.8 percent, a welcomed increase following a relatively low quarter of growth in the last quarter of FY11.
? Corporation income tax rose $8.4 million.
? Cigarette taxes continued a path of decline with a 10.6 percent dip in July.
? Property taxes fell $12.6 million.
? Coal severance tax revenues increased 18.1 percent.
? Lottery revenues increased 3.4 percent.
Lassiter also announced that Road Fund revenues for July totaled $104.7 million, an increase of 2.3 percent compared to last July.