Arkansas ends fiscal year with $15M surplus

LITTLE ROCK—Arkansas finance officials say the state ended its fiscal year with a $15.7 million surplus after a boost in sales tax collections over the past two months helped restore most of the budget cuts enacted earlier.

The Department of Finance and Administration said Wednesday the state ended the fiscal year with $5.3 billion in net available revenue, which was $19 million below the previous fiscal year. Arkansas' fiscal year ended Friday.

Officials on Friday announced they would restore $60 million of the $70 million in budget cuts that had been made because of sluggish revenue. Most of that money went toward the Medicaid Trust Fund.

Arkansas' sales tax collections in June totaled $202.8 million, which was $7.9 million more than the same month last year and $2.6 million above forecast.

http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/jul/06/arkansas-ends-fiscal-year-15m-surplus/680920/