Governor “Butch” Otter and State Controller Brandon Woolf said Friday that continuing strong economic growth enabled the State of Idaho to end fiscal 2018 with $100.7 million more tax revenue than anticipated -- despite June collections that were $19.3 million less than forecast.
“Our ability to pay for the public services needed by a growing population is a credit to the ... diversity of Idaho’s economy and the talents, abilities and efforts of our entrepreneurs, employers, and the men and women who provide the means,” Otter said.
Total tax receipts for the budget year through June 30 were 8.2 percent over the year before, exceeding the 5.3-percent growth forecast by the Division of Financial Management.
Despite the weak June results due to revenue that was below projections for both individual and corporate income taxes, total individual income tax receipts in fiscal 2018 were 10.7 percent over the previous year and $68.6 million more than forecast, officials said.
Corporate income tax collections of $238.7 million in fiscal 2018 were up 11.5 percent from the year before and $22.9 million more than expected. The sales tax brought in $1.49 billion during the recently completed budget year -– a 7.8-percent increase from fiscal 2017, and $18.5 million more than projected.
Overall, the State collected more than $3.73 billion in General Fund revenue in the 12 months through June.
Officials say that enabled the State to begin the new budget year by making “surplus eliminator” transfers of almost $60.3 million each to the Strategic Initiatives Fund supporting State and local transportation programs and the Budget Stabilization Fund –- essentially providing a hedge against future economic downturns.
The rainy day fund now holds a total of more than $413.5 million.
“Idaho maintains a strong financial position going into the new fiscal year,” Woolf said.
