Tax revenues up 4.6 % in November
Tennessee tax collections grew by nearly 4.6 percent from the year-ago level last month, raising $765.6 million, or $11 million more than what the state budgeted.
Tennessee’s Commissioner of Finance and Administration Mark Emkes said the tax gain, which reflects October sales, “leads us to believe that growth during fiscal year 2012 will be moderate.”
The gain reflected a 5.2 percent rise in sales tax revenues during November as consumers showed continued signs of freeing up their spending after the recession. But other taxes rose less significantly. With unemployment still above the U.S. average in Tennessee, Emkes said that “we must remain vigilant in monitoring our spending patterns.
“It’s important to remember we won’t see how ‘Black Friday’ and after-Thanksgiving retail sales performed until this time next month, when we’ve collected revenues for November spending,” he said.