Tax collector reports sixth straight month of falling revenue

ATLANTA - The state&#39;s top tax official reported a sixth straight month of falling revenue collections Wednesday, a day after the governor outlined plans to launch a massive new spending program to kick-start the state&#39;s economy. <br> <br> State tax collections for December were off $53.7 million, or 4.9 percent, compared to collections for December a year ago. For the first six months of the budget year, collections were down $375.8 million, or 5.6 percent. <br> <br> The report from Revenue Commissioner Jerry Jackson came about 24 hours after Gov. Roy Barnes briefed legislators on midyear budget recommendations which tap the state&#39;s surplus and use money borrowed through bonds to finance a $920 million building program for roads, schools and colleges. <br> <br> Henry Thomassen, the governor&#39;s economic adviser, said the latest monthly revenue report contains no information to indicate the governor should change his course. <br> <br> ``It&#39;s essentially a confirmation of what we had been expecting. It doesn&#39;t improve the situation but, at the same time, there are no surprises in it,&#39;&#39; he said. ``We&#39;re OK so far.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Economists nationally expect recovery to begin this spring, but Thomassen said it will take time for that to show up in state revenue collections. ``You don&#39;t get anything spectacular for several months,&#39;&#39; he said. <br> <br> Sales tax collections for December were down 5.2 percent, although that mostly reflects November transactions because of reporting lags. For the first six months of the budget year which began July 1, sales tax collections were down 5 percent. <br> <br> Individual income tax collections were up 2.5 percent for December but down 1.9 percent for the first half of the fiscal year.