Minnesota tax collections beat expectations

(AP) Individual taxpayers helped push Minnesota's tax revenues above expectations in May, paying $10.8 million more than predicted.

Total tax collections for the month came in at $1.037 billion - that's $34 million, or 3.4 percent, above what budget forecasters anticipated earlier this year, Finance Commissioner Tom Hanson said in a memo released Monday.

Revenues so far this year now exceed the February forecast by $67 million, and Hanson's memo predicted that the state will collect more than expected in individual income taxes for the 2006 tax year paid in 2007.

Still, the revenue data is preliminary and doesn't show what's happening on the spending side. Officials will give more details on Minnesota's April-to-June budget performance next month.

For May, sales taxes, vehicle sales taxes and other revenue sources all brought in more than forecast, while corporate income taxes fell short of the projection by $6 million.