April Tax Collections Fall

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) – Mississippi tax collections fell more than $85 million short of expectations in April. Officials say that’s partly because a Department of Revenue staffing shortage slowed the process of depositing checks.

Department spokeswoman Kathy Waterbury said this week that 35 temporary mail room workers had been laid off because of budget cuts. That happened just as the department received thousands of individual income tax returns that were filed near the April 18 deadline.

Waterbury says other Department of Revenue employees have been working extra hours to open mail and deposit checks. From Saturday to Wednesday, they had had put $68.5 million in the bank. Because of that, Waterbury says May collections should look more robust.

Gov. Phil Bryant has made two rounds of budget cuts since the year started July 1.