October Tax Revenues Coming In Higher Than Expected

This afternoon, we received word from Governor Barbour's office that Mississippi's tax revenues will come in slightly higher than expected. While this is good news, it doesn't diminish the fact that we're heading into the next fiscal years with hundreds of millions of dollars less than we had this year. Here's a statement from Governor Barbour:

“The state’s preliminary revenue collections as of today came in slightly higher than our conservative estimate for the fiscal year.
October revenue was 1.87 percent, or $7.3 million, more than we had anticipated. While I’m pleased to report that we surpassed the estimate, the need to prepare our state for another difficult fiscal year still exists. The economy still is not strong, and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal stimulus funds dictates that we prepare a Fiscal Year 2012 budget recognizing that Mississippians expect their government to prioritize state spending rather than reach deeper into their pockets.”
-Governor Haley R. Barbour