Kentucky's tax collections rebounded in October after a slow start to the fiscal year that has left state officials worried.
The State Budget Office report Monday forecast a $135 million revenue shortfall when the fiscal year ends next June. But The Courier-Journal said that was softened somewhat by the October receipts. State officials collected $33.2 million more in October than they did in the same month a year ago, a 4.6 percent increase. That increase is more than the growth of the first three months of the fiscal year combined.
The state saw big increases in its two largest sources of revenue. Individual income tax collections jumped 4.8 percent while sales tax collections rose 6.3 percent. Year to date, property and corporate income taxes have both declined from last year's levels.
Democratic Governor Steve Beshear said the state's low collections are cause for concern. But he called October's numbers encouraging and said there is no reason at this point to panic.