By Alabama Public Radio
Montgomery, AL – Alabama's government ended the past fiscal year with 299 million dollars in budget surpluses thanks to a healthy rise in tax collections. Tax collections rose about 11-percent over the past 12 months to an after refund total of 7-point-1 billion dollars. Last year's total was 6-point-4 billion dollars. State tax collections make up about 45 percent of what government spending. The state's largest source of tax revenue ... the personal income tax ... rose 11-percent from the previous year. The second largest revenue source is the sales tax, which was up about 6-percent. The fifth largest tax source, the corporate income tax, increased 43 percent. But state revenue officials are trying to stay grounded despite the good fiscal news. State Revenue Commissioner Tom Surtees says he doesn't expect the same kind of growth in fiscal 2006.