More Strong State Revenue, But Sales Tax Growth Slows

Tennessee once again brought in more tax dollars than expected last month. That’s been the case for the whole budget year so far. But today’s numbers came with a few words of caution.

Sales tax collections in Tennessee have been headed up more than two straight years. Sales taxes are vital in a state with no income tax – something Governor Bill Haslam happened to be touting on CNBC about the same time the state’s numbers were released.

“We think it’s a competitive advantage. We actually have seen our growth be up this year considerably, in a fairly obviously tough economic time, again, because people choose where they want to base their business or where they want to base their family.”

Meanwhile Finance Commissioner Mark Emkes warned sales tax growth is slowing down. And such revenue is from collections for last month that actually reflect people’s spending back in April. Since then the news out of Europe has gotten spookier – something Emkes says the state has to watch going forward.