Mo. begins new fiscal year with record amount of money

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri's new budget is off to a roaring start, with more money in the bank than ever before.

The state began its 2022 fiscal year July 1 with a general revenue cash balance of nearly $2.4 billion, the state budget office said Wednesday.

That shattered the old record of nearly $1.5 billion for the fiscal year that started in July 1998, though the old high mark was still slightly larger when viewed as a percentage of state revenue received at the time.

State budget director Dan Haug said Missouri's large intake was partly because of the coronavirus. Because of the pandemic-induced recession, the state delayed last year's deadline for individual income taxes until July 15, 2020, meaning it received two tax payments during the 2021 fiscal year.

Haug said income and sales taxes collections also fared significantly better than expected. The 6.7% sales tax growth indicates people were shopping more during the pandemic, he said.

"Revenues were really, really good -- much, much better than we did anticipate," Haug said.

In December, state officials had forecast 14% growth for the 2021 fiscal year that ended June 30, Haug said. Instead, revenue grew by nearly 26%.