State tax collections were up 3 percent in December after dipping the two previous months, a good sign for state lawmakers as they begin their 2020 legislative session.
Collections have been down or slow the past few months, backing up Gov. Brian Kemp’s decision to order state agencies to cut spending 4% this year and 6% next year.
However, both income and sales tax collections were up slightly from December 2018.
Overall, collections for the first six months of fiscal 2020, which began July 1, are up .3%, or $32 million. That’s well below what was projected to be needed to pay for this year’s $27.5 billion state budget.