Mo. revenue declines by 7.5 percent

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri started its new budget year with a 7.5 percent drop in revenue in July compared with last year.

The state Office of Administration said Friday the two largest tax sources, personal income taxes and sales taxes, are both down from July 2008. Sales tax collections are 9.5 percent less than a year ago, and personal income taxes are down 5.9 percent. But corporate income taxes were up 28.4 percent in July. Tax refunds were up by 14.7 percent compared with 2008.

Missouri's budget year runs from July 1 through June 30. The slow start to the 2010 budget year comes after another year in which revenue declined. Last year, state collections were nearly 7 percent lower than the previous year.