Kansas revenue projections for May neared dead center. The Kansas Department of Revenue estimated the state would collect $443 million, and the state collected $441 million, or 99.58 percent of the projected total.
Accurate projections are important, because lawmakers use those estimates for budgeting purposes. When collections beat projections, it means the state collected more money from taxpayers than necessary. When collections don’t meet projections, there’s a shortfall between budgeted expenditures and funding.
Accurate projections allow lawmakers and state officials to trust estimates for future planning, according to Rachel Whitten, communications staff at
the Kansas Department of Revenue.
“The estimates are only as valuable as their accuracy,” she said. “If they’re not accurate, it’s not a valuable tool.”
Kansas is on track to meet total tax estimates for the fiscal year that ends June 30, the May tax receipt data shows. The state has collected $25.2 million more for a total of $5.21 million, this year than it had by this time last year. The $5.21 million total is the exact amount state officials predicted.
“Over the first 11 months of this fiscal year, sales, corporate income, and individual income tax withholdings are performing better than the first 11 months of fiscal year 2016,” said Kansas Department of Revenue Secretary Sam Williams. “That is an indicator that Kansas consumers are earning and spending more in our state.”