TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas collected 5.3% less in taxes than expected in November, the first time in more than two years that its collections have fallen short of the state's monthly target.
The shortfall was $36 million, but the state Department of Revenue's report Thursday came only three weeks after state officials and university economists revised the revenue projections to make them more optimistic.
The new fiscal forecast predicted Kansas would collect $678 million in general tax revenues in November, and it took in $642 million.
That was the first time tax collections failed to hit a monthly target since July 2020 and broke a string of 27 months in a row of better-than-expected numbers.
However, tax collections since the current budget year began July 1 are running 5.4% ahead of collections during the same period last year. From July through November, they were almost $3.6 billion, which was $185 million more than the $3.4 billion collected during the same months in 2021.
State officials have said inflation is playing a big role in the higher year-over-year revenues. Higher prices also drive up collections of the state's sales tax, and income tax collections also are higher than they were last year.
