• Florida’s General Revenue collections for August exceeded initial projections, recording a gain of $285.7 million, an approximately 8.8 percent increase compared to initial economic forecasts.
• Sales Tax collections for the month surpassed estimates, with a boost of $136.9 million, driven by an ongoing inflationary trend leading to higher consumer prices and increased sales tax receipts.
• Various revenue streams, including Earnings on Investments and Insurance Taxes, outperformed their forecasts, contributing to the overall revenue increase, while some sources, such as Corporate Filing Fees and Medicaid Shares, fell short of expectations, resulting in a cumulative loss of $3.7 million for the month.

Florida’s General Revenue collections for August exceeded initial projections, according to documents made public by the state Office of Economic and Demographic Research (EDR) on Tuesday.

State economists recorded a gain of $285.7 million in revenue, an approximately 8.8 percent increase compared to the forecasts made by the General Revenue Estimating Conference earlier this year. The boost in revenue was fueled by several contributing factors, with Sales Tax and Earnings on Investments emerging as the primary contributors to the rise.

Sales Tax collections for the month also exceeded estimations, clocking in at $136.9 million, or 5.1 percent above the estimated figures. The surge can be attributed to the ongoing inflationary trend, which has led to higher consumer prices that have consequently driven up sales tax receipts.

“The immediate response to inflation is an increase in sales tax collections that reflects the higher prices. Persistent inflation conditions, however, ultimately suppress collections as consumers begin to spend more money on non-taxable necessities like food and healthcare,” reads the EDR report. “In this regard, the index for shelter was the largest monthly contributor to the increase, accounting for more than 70 percent of the total increase in all items less food and energy, with prices for food at home increasing by 3.0 percent over the past 12 months.”

Among the sales tax components, Consumer Nondurables, Tourism, Automobiles, and Other Durables outperformed estimates, while Building and Business lagged behind expectations. In addition to Sales Tax, ten other revenue streams also outperformed their forecasts, collectively contributing $149.2 million in additional revenue, including Earnings on Investments, Insurance Taxes, and Other Nonoperating Revenues.

Conversely, four revenue sources fell short of expectations, resulting in a cumulative loss of $3.7 million for the month. These sources include Corporate Filing Fees, Counties’ Medicaid Share, Other Taxes, Licenses, and Fees, and Article V Fees and Transfers.