Kentucky Revenues Up, But Officials Cautious About Future Growth

State officials say Kentucky’s revenue growth through the first six months of the fiscal year has been steady, with receipts climbing almost four percent since the beginning of July.

The official revenue forecast calls for growth of 2.4% over the entire fiscal year, but Greg Harkenrider with the Office of State Budget Director says the state’s sales tax receipts are not growing as hoped

“It’s flat, flat, flat as it can be. And that concerns me because across the nation, U.S. retail sales havebeen on the increase. Other states are showing pretty decent sales tax growth and we’re flat," he said.

Harkenrider says November and December revenue numbers may also be skewed a bit by the state’s tax amnesty program.