Minn. Finance Chief: April Tax Haul Up By $153M

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota's tax haul for April was $153 million better than forecasters had expected, a strong month that probably has little effect on the trajectory of legislative budget talks.

Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Jim Schowalter released the news in a memo Friday. The gains were attributable to better-than-anticipated collections from individual and corporate taxes. Officials always caution that the monthly figures can be volatile.

Because the monthly reports look only at revenue patterns, state lawmakers don't rely on those figures when setting the next budget. They instead lean on twice-yearly forecasts, the latest of which showed a $627 million deficit to address.

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