April revenues have been totaled in New Hampshire, and there is more good news for advocates of last year’s cigarette tax cut. In the fourth month of the year, revenues from the tax were up and cigarette tax revenue continues to outperform estimates.
This follows news that in February, the cigarette tax had brought in about $1 million more than estimates had projected. Reports also indicated that in January, revenue from the tax had exceeded estimates.
New Hampshire’s revenue picture otherwise looks somewhat bleak, however. According to the Union Leader:
The big drag on April, which is the second-biggest revenue month of the fiscal year, is the business-profits tax, which Friday was $14.4 million below expectations. That was somewhat offset by the business-enterprise tax, which was $6.3 million more than anticipated, but still leaves business taxes about $8 million below estimates.
Overall, with two business days to go, revenues were $12.4 million below projections for April.
Expect a debate to ensue about how to close this gap moving forward, with Republicans defending policies like the cigarette tax cut and Democrats arguing for tax increases.