State revenue grows in May, but pace slows

State tax collections in May were up 2.1 percent over a year ago, but the rate of growth has slowed since April.

Gov. Nathan Deal said Thursday that the state brought in $1.24 billion in May, an increase of $26 million over May 2011. Through the first 11 months of the 2012 fiscal year, net revenue collections are up 5.1 percent to more than $14.5 billion.

“With only one exception, we’ve had positive year-over-year growth for more than 20 months,” Deal said. “Although these numbers are not as strong as April’s, they continue to maintain a steady pattern of growth.”

April's revenue collections were up 11 percent over the same month in 2011.

In May, individual income tax collections fell over the same month in 2011 by 0.4 percent to $617 million. The drop occurred as individual income tax refunds spiked 28.5 percent.

Sales and use tax collections continued to be a bright spot, growing by 3.9 percent in May. Sales tax collections totaled nearly $449 million for the month.

Corporate income taxes shot up by 85.4 percent, or $3.75 million, due in large part to a year-to-year drop of 17 percent in corporate tax refunds. Meanwhile, corporate estimated tax payments were up 15.4 percent.