by Jon Styf
The state of Tennessee has collected $585.8 million more than budgeted in taxes and fees in the first three months of the fiscal year.
That’s after the state collected $4.6 billion more than its initial budgeted estimate for last fiscal year. Tennessee’s State Funding Board heard testimony Thursday from economists as it worked toward establishing next fiscal year’s estimates.
In October, Tennessee collected $1.5 billion, which was $178 million more than the budgeted estimate and an increase of $125 million from what was collected in October 2021.
The largest collection came from sales tax, where Tennessee collected $1.14 billion. That’s above the $1 billion budgeted estimate and more than an 11% increase from the $1.02 billion collected in October 2021.
“October sales tax receipt growth, reflecting September taxable sales activity, made up 92% of the month’s growth from last year,” Tennessee Department of Finance and Administration Commissioner Jim Bryson said. “The largest retail sales gains for the month came from the categories of building materials and eating and drinking places. All other state tax categories combined experienced limited growth.”
The state collected $7.2 million more than estimated in mixed drink taxes for the month and $13.8 million more than estimated for the year.
Tennessee’s combined franchise and excise taxes were $28.7 million more than the October budgeted estimate of $84.4 million.
“In the first three months of the fiscal year, we are pleased to have outperformed our budgeted estimates by nearly 13% and to have growth, compared to last year, near 10%,” Bryson said. “However, we expect these elevated measures will lessen as we progress through the remainder of the fiscal year. As such, we will continue to monitor economic activity and revenue trends to ensure fiscal stability.”
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Jon Styf is an award-winning editor and reporter who has worked in Illinois, Texas, Wisconsin, Florida and Michigan in local newsrooms over the past 20 years, working for Shaw Media, Hearst and several other companies. Styf is a reporter for The Center Square.Â
If Tennessee’s tax revenue is this much more than what is needed to run the State, then We The People are being taxed too much.The purpose of taxes is to fund the running of the government, not to amass a slush fund for politicians. I call on the Legislature to lower our tax rate and refund over-collected tax money to citizens of Tennessee.
JRin – I have been calling for this for years. The powers that be are dead set on keeping taxes high and doling out the “excess” on pet projects and economic “development” – giveaways in billions. Nashville politics is just a smaller version of Washington.
Now, if we could simply team up with out MUSICIANS and request that when folks come to town, to hear our MUSIC (blues, country, gospel, bluegrass, American roots music) that they pay admission with $OUND ROUNDS of Silver, or United States Silver Dollars (one in the same by legal definition.)
We then form TENNESSEE STATE BANK simply to the BANK OF NORTH DAKOTA. The is no reason whatsoever the Tennessee cannot be like Switzerland, free, independent, neutral and wealthy.