Georgia tax collections down for 10th month in a row

ATLANTA - Georgia tax collections were down in April for the 10th month in a row. The governor&#39;s economic adviser, Henry Thomassen, says the figures ring no new alarm bills but also do not offer any comfort. They were release Tuesday. <br> <br> Still, Thomassen says the spending cuts recommended by Governor Roy Barnes and approved by the Legislature look sufficient to keep the state in the black when the budget year ends June 30. <br> <br> Taxes paid to the state Revenue Department in April were $922.5 million. That&#39;s down 7.8 percent, or 78-point-2 million dollars, from collections of last April. <br> <br> Collections for the first 10 months of the fiscal year totalled $10.3 billion. That&#39;s down 6 percent, or $660.1 million, from the same period a year ago. <br> <br> Thomassen says that is still within the range predicted by his economic models. He says there is no question the state will collect enough tax to finance the reduced budget. But a big surplus is another matter.