NJ Income Tax Collections Set New Record in May

Revenues for the month of May exceeded estimates for the sixth month in a row in New Jersey. Income tax collections hit an all-time high for May and sales taxes showed continued strength. The announcement came today from State Treasurer Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff.

Income tax collections totaled $805 million, their highest level on record for the month of May, and more than 10 percent above the previous record of $728.9 million set in May 2010.

On a year-over-year basis, income tax collections were up by 14.9 percent. On a monthly basis, they beat the revised projected target by 11.6 percent.

“The report reflects ongoing improvement in the economic conditions of state residents,” says Dr. Charles Steindel, chief economist for the New Jersey Treasury Department. “Income tax collections continue to grow rapidly, even after the receipt of large final payments in April, and sales tax receipts remain on an upward track.”

The Garden State’s Fiscal Year runs from July 1 through June 30. For the eleven months ended May 31, income, sales and corporation business tax collections were all ahead of revised projections as were total revenues for the State’s 16 major revenues sources as a group.

Not all of today’s revenue news is good. The Transfer Inheritance Tax and the Realty Transfer Tax were both slightly below targets through the end of May, with Transfer Inheritance collections 2.8 percent below revised projections and the Realty Transfer Tax lagging its revised projected level by 2 percent.

“As we close out the books on fiscal year 2013, the same macro trends we have noted throughout the past twelve months are continuing to shape our overall results,” says Sidamon-Eristoff.