State Budget Surplus  Pushes To

$470 Million

HARTFORD (AP) — The strong economy and higher-than-expected income tax revenues will push the state budget surplus to $470.2 million to close out the fiscal year, state Comptroller Nancy Wyman said Monday.

Her latest surplus estimate is $56.8 million higher than last month’s projection. The fiscal year ended June 30. The income tax will bring in $275.4 million more than was anticipated and the sales tax will generate about $61 million higher than previous estimates.

Ms Wyman warned, however, that state spending is expected to rise about 6 percent over the next year outpacing the 5.4 percent growth in revenue.

State lawmakers recently appropriated $196 million of the surplus for a variety of programs. As required by law, about $35 million will be deposited into the state’s emergency “rainy day” fund. The remaining surplus will be used to pay for school construction and wiring schools for the Internet.