State tax collections were up again in October, continuing a trend that began over the summer as Georgia’s economy picked up.
Collections for October were up 1.8% over October 2019, about $35 million. For the first four months of fiscal 2021, which began July 1, they are up 5.1%, or $400 million.
That’s better than many lawmakers expected in June, when they passed a budget that cut more than $2 billion in spending — including $950 million in basic k-12 school funding.
In October, income tax collections were off, but the net take from sales taxes improved almost 10%. The state gets most of its revenue from sales and income taxes.
Alcoholic beverage tax collections were up 21.4%, continuing a trend that started with the COVID-19 pandemic. That may get a boost from the recent startup of home delivery of alcoholic beverages under a law legislators passed in June.
The hospitality industry has been hammered by the pandemic, and hotel-motel fees were off 24.1% in October. That’s actually an improvement over some months earlier this year.