It's official -- Idaho ends budget year with record surplus of nearly $900 million

[TexasTowelie]

Money may go toward tax cuts, education investments and one-time infrastructure projects


The state of Idaho closed the books on the 2021 budget year on June 30 with a record surplus of nearly $900 million on hand, Gov. Brad Little announced Tuesday.

Now that June revenue numbers are finalized — and again beat state forecasts — Idaho officials know that they closed out the 2021 fiscal year with a surplus of about $893.4 million. That’s even better than things looked just over a month ago, when state officials were expecting a surplus of about $809 million 11 months into the fiscal year (Idaho runs on a fiscal year, or budget year, that runs from July 1 to June 30).

Overall, the state set several budget and revenue records during the just-completed fiscal year.

• For the first time in Idaho history, state revenues surpassed $5 billion in one fiscal year, setting a new record in terms of dollars.
• Compared to the previous years, revenue grew by 24.2%. That represents the largest increase in revenue for any year that records are available, Little’s office said.
• The month of May was the largest revenue month in state history, as revenues beat the forecast by $580 million.

What’s the reason for the giant surplus? In simplest terms, revenues are up and greatly outperformed the state forecasts. Income tax filings beat forecasts by $469 million and sales tax revenues were up $166 million over projections.

Read more: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/07/20/its-official-idaho-ends-budget-year-with-record-surplus-of-nearly-900-million/