By Shelley Kofler, KERA News
Dallas, TX – State Comptroller Susan Combs believes we've seen the worst of the recession in Texas. She points to April sales tax revenue which went up 1.4 percent over a year ago. It's the first increase following 14 consecutive months of sales tax decline.
Combs, however, is quick to note sales tax revenues are still down overall from a year ago and a one month increase is not a trend.
Combs: What we think this means is that we've lifted up off the bottom. The real question is: what is the upward trajectory going to be? The wonderful hay days of being up 12 percent, 10 percent, 11 percent, I don't know when those are coming back. And those are really important for state revenues but of course they come from folks who buy.
Sales taxes make up some 57 percent of state tax revenue. This year's drop in sales tax is part of the reason lawmakers say the state budget gap has grown.