Perdue: State revenues increase in March

ATLANTA – The state’s net revenue collections last month increased 1 percent year-over-year while gross tax collections increased nearly 8 percent, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue announced.

March net revenue collections increased $10.5 million from a year earlier – from $987 million in March 2009 to $998 million last month, state numbers show. State officials said the monthly revenue increase was the first since November 2008.

“While we are always cautious about reading too much into a single month’s revenue report, the March numbers are certainly encouraging,” Perdue said in a statement. “Springtime in Georgia always brings us the Masters and the Braves’ opening day, and I am hopeful we are also seeing the first buds of economic recovery.”

Gross tax collections increased 7.9 percent or $141 million. But, state officials said much of that gross was returned either to municipalities and counties statewide through sales tax distributions or to taxpayers in the form of tax refund checks.

Gross sales tax collections increased $7 million or 1 percent and corporate income tax collections rose $12 million or 9.8 percent.

Tax revenues for Fiscal Year 2010, which ends June 30, are down 11.5 percent compared to last year.