The Gazette | July 06, 2021

"Iowa posted double-digit growth in tax collections for fiscal 2021, which probably will translate into a whopping state budget surplus once the books officially close in September, officials said Thursday.

The state treasury took in more than $8.1 billion for the 12-month period that ended June 30, a 16.3 percent increase that tallied nearly $1.14 billion more than fiscal 2020, according to a report from the nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

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The numbers in Thursday’s report were eye-popping, with June receipts coming in $80.8 million, or 11.7 percent, over the same month last year. Cash year-to-date receipts were $1.4 billion, or 8.6 percent, over last fiscal year, with gross tax collections topping the state’s estimate for the fiscal year by $600 million after refunds and other factors were taken into account, he said.

The major categories of personal and corporate income taxes and state sales/use tax collections all were up by double digits year over year, and net receipts on a cash basis came in slightly more than $1 billion over what the state’s Revenue Estimating Conference set in its 1.6 percent yearly growth estimate.

“In spite of all that has happened over the past 12 months, fiscal year 2021 will go down as one of the strongest revenue years on record,” according to the Capitol Report issued by the Iowa Legislature’s majority House Republican caucus.

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After the Legislature ended its 2021 session, the agency issued revised numbers estimating the state’s ending balance surplus at about $487.6 million, and the projection for the 2022 fiscal year that began Thursday at $377 million next June 30. However, Thursday’s state tax collections data likely will cause the fiscal 2021 surplus estimate to be revised upward significantly by the time the official figure is calculated when all accruals and other adjustments are finalized by Sept. 30.

"The state of Iowa's revenue growth in fiscal year 2021 reinforces that Iowa is on the right track. Our state is coming back strong and is well on its way to the full return to normal Iowans deserve,” said Rep. Gary Mohr, R-Bettendorf, chairman of the Iowa House Appropriations Committee. “Our state's financial position is strong and future is bright as we begin FY 2022."

Read the full story here. 

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