The state took in nearly 6 percent more revenue for the just-completed fiscal year, nearly $400 million above the benchmarks that Gov. Charlie Baker and the Democratic-controlled Legislature established for state budgeting purposes, state officials said Thursday.
Also, state tax collections in June – the final month of the 2015 fiscal year – spiked 5 percent above June 2014 levels.
The latest numbers, released by the Department of Revenue, come as lawmakers are feeling the pressure to restore $162 million in fiscal 2016 spending initiatives that Baker vetoed last week. The governor hopes to slow spending growth in the new, $38.1 billion budget, to 3 percent.
Baker administration officials have cautioned that some surplus fiscal 2015 revenue will be needed to pay for programs and services that exceeded their spending allotments in the that year’s budget.
