Monthly tax collections show no sign of cooling off based on the state budget plan as Indiana heads into the final month of its fiscal year.
Indiana brought in $216 million more in May than the state budget plan expected. Through 11 months of the fiscal year, that already puts the state more than $2 billion ahead of where it needs to be.
Tax collections have been exceeding budget needs since the start of the current, two-year budget cycle, stretching back to July 2021.
Lawmakers have already planned to spend much of this year’s surplus. In the new budget, HEA1001, passed a couple months ago, legislators included provisions that will help fund previously approved projects whose costs have gone up because of inflation and supply chain issues.
That includes $800 million for prison upgrades and $100 million for a new lodge at a state park.
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Lawmakers will also use $700 million from the current fiscal year to help pay down an old teacher pension fund.
Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.