Missouri revenues up 3.8 percent through September

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Missouri revenues are up 3.8 percent through the first quarter of the new budget year.

Figures released Thursday by the state Office of Administration show that individual income and sales tax collections both rose for the three-month period ending in September.

The 3.8 percent increase in net general revenues marks a turnaround from last fiscal year, when state revenues declined by 1 percent. But it remains short of what's needed to meet the budget.

Legislators had forecast a growth rate of 4.2 percent and Gov. Jay Nixon had assumed a 5.2 percent growth rate for this year. Because the budget began with less money than expected, state budget director Linda Luebbering (LOO'-ber-ing) says Missouri now needs a greater than 10 percent growth rate to meet the budget.