West Virginia’s general revenue fund exceeded monthly and year-to-date targets at the conclusion of the first quarter .
The state collected $570 million in September, which was almost $16 million above estimate. Total year to date general revenue collections are $1.41 billion.
“It’s been very steady. We were steady both against estimates as well as prior year actuals,” State Revenue Secretary Eric Nelson said on MetroNews Talkline.
Nelson noted that key components like corporate net income tax, consumer sales tax and personal income tax largely drove the positive financial results.
Besides that, severance tax collections performed well, supported primarily by strong activity within the oil and gas market.
Despite a strong financial standing and significant surplus balances, officials maintain a cautious stance because of rising inflation and higher interest rates.
“You know, one thing about the inflation you mentioned, 3.4 year over year. You take out food and energy, and it’s roughly a little over 2% so a lot of the drive is in the energy and food, and yeah, you know we we we closely watch that,” Nelson said.