By News Service of Florida
Driven by sales taxes, state general-revenue collections in November topped expectations by about 6 percent.
The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research reported last week that Florida collected about $4.031 billion in net general revenue in November, $228.7 million over an amount forecast in August.
A panel known as the Revenue Estimating Conference meets periodically during the year to revise revenue forecasts, which are intended to help lawmakers make budget decisions.
General revenue is closely watched because it plays a major role in funding education, health and prison programs.
During November, the state collected $3.014 billion in sales taxes, or $172.1 million more than expected.
As another example, earnings on investments came in at $137.6 million, or $18.6 million more than forecast.
Meanwhile, corporate income taxes totaled $95.7 million in November, or $24.6 million below expectations.
The report also said Floridians continue to have a “subpar” personal saving rate.
It said the rate was 4 percent in September, down from 4.1 percent in August.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the typical annual saving rate was about 7 percent to 8 percent.