Tax Collections on Track

Wisconsin is on track to meet or exceed the revenue forecast for this fiscal year, according to new figures released today by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue. General Fund tax collections from July 2011 through April 2012 were 4.3 percent above collections for the same period in fiscal year 2011.

Back in February 2011, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau projected that 2012 General Fund tax collections would be 2.2 percent higher than in 2011. Given that there are only two more months in the state’s fiscal year, and that the first ten months have outpaced the projection, it’s possible that total tax collections for the year could exceed the forecast. However, as Jon Peacock noted in a blog post about last month’s revenue collections, the monthly figures bounce around a bit, so it’s probably best to wait to count the fiscal chickens until they hatch.

Here are year-to-date revenue collections compared to the same period in 2011:

• Individual income tax, up 4.5 percent (when adjusted to take into account a late posting in withholding due to the last day of the month falling on a weekend or holiday);
• Sales tax, up 4.8 percent;
• Corporate income tax, up 5.4 percent;
• Excise taxes, down 3.6 percent;
• Other taxes, up 9.5 percent;
• Total General Fund taxes, up 4.3 percent.

Tamarine Cornelius