By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – The state government's tax collections are running almost 11 percent ahead of the same period last year. Sales taxes and income taxes are both up, and officials say those are two key indicators of Alabama's economy. But state Finance Director Jim Main is cautioning against too much optimism. Main says the real test of Alabama's tax collections will come when post-recession figures from the summer of 2004 can be compared against the summer of 2005's tax collections. He says the state came out of a recession only in 2004. That means the post-recession figures for 2005 are still being compared to recessionary numbers from 2004. The state Revenue Department reported Thursday that Alabama collected $5. 18 billion in taxes from October through May. That's up from $4.69 billion in the same eight-month period in 2004.