Officials: Expect $4.2B more NC revenue this year, $2B next

North Carolina officials say state government tax collections will smash the projections used to help fashion the first year of the current two-year state budget. The legislature’s economists and Gov. Roy Cooper’s budget office now believe state coffers should take in $4.24 billion more in the fiscal year ending June 30 than predicted last June. That’s a nearly 15% increase. A memo released Monday by the General Assembly's fiscal division also says the state should anticipate collecting $2 billion more in the next fiscal year. These new numbers will inform Republican budget-writers and Cooper when they consider budget changes. The General Assembly session begins next week.