Georgia's Budget Surplus

Barely a week after Gov. Brian Kemp announced he would let agencies ask for spending hikes in the coming year, July revenue numbers backed up his optimism about the state’s fiscal health. State tax collections were up 13.1% for July — the first month of the fiscal year — over July 2022, largely because this time last year the state wasn’t collecting gas taxes, which Kemp suspended to lower fuel prices. Excluding money raised in July from gas taxes, revenue was up 5%.