Florida Revenue Tops Projection

By The News Service of Florida

Florida’s general-revenue tax collections beat expectations in May, with economists saying part of the gain was tied to people buying goods in anticipation of the effects of tariffs.

The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research on Monday released a report that said Florida collected about $4.56 billion in net general revenue in May, $84.5 million more than the economists forecast in March.

“Slightly less than 82 percent of this gain came from sales tax as consumers began to prebuy goods in advance of the expected impact of tariffs,” the report said.

The report came as White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday told reporters that President Donald Trump would extend to Aug. 1 a pause on reciprocal tariffs that was set to end on Wednesday. The extension followed Trump’s announcement of 25 percent tariffs that would be imposed on Japan and South Korea starting Aug. 1.

State general revenue is closely watched because it plays a major role in funding education, health and prison programs. A panel of economists known as the Revenue Estimating Conference meets periodically through the year to update projections, which are used by lawmakers in negotiating the state budget.

The report showed Florida in May collected $3.217 billion in sales taxes, $69.2 million more than forecast. It also collected $379.4 million in corporate income taxes, which was $47.4 million less than projected. Among other sources, insurance taxes accounted for $419 million in revenue, $35.6 million more than forecast.