UPDATED!
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas says its tax collections in August fell $10 million short of expectations and Republican Governor Sam Brownback blames a soft economy. The state Department of Revenue report Thursday marked the fourth consecutive month that Kansas has failed to hit its revenue projections. Tax collections have fallen short 10 of the past 12 months. The state collected $427 million in taxes last month. A fiscal forecast made in April predicted the state would take in more than $437 million. The shortfall is 2.3 percent. Kansas has struggled to balance its budget after GOP lawmakers heeded Brownback's call to slash personal income taxes in 2012 and 2013 as an economic stimulus. But Brownback said this week that slumps in agriculture and energy production are to blame for disappointing revenues.
(earlier version)
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas is preparing to disclose whether its tax collections in August fell short of expectations for the fourth consecutive month. The monthly report due this (THUR) afternoon from the state Department of Revenue could complicate the state's financial picture. Tax collections have fallen short of expectations 10 of the past 12 months. In July, they were nearly $13 million below the official state projections made in a forecast issued by officials and university economists in April. The shortfall was 2.9 percent. A larger shortfall in June prompted Republican Gov. Sam Brownback's administration to delay $260 million in state aid payments to public schools. The state also diverted money for highway projects to help avoid a deficit at the end of the state's 2016 fiscal year on June 30.
