According to state revenue projections announced Friday, this year marks the fourth consecutive Commonwealth budget surplus, making Gov. Bob McDonnell the first governor who served during a period of consistent growth since Gov. George Allen’s term in the mid 1990s.
Though the state saw a month-over-month 4.8 percent decrease in revenue from August to July, the state saw 3 percent year-to-date revenue growth.
“Virginia’s overall revenue picture continues to be positive,” McDonnell said. “We will continue to adhere to a course of wise investment of limited resources.”
Commonwealth Secretary of Finance Richard Brown said year-to-date revenues actually grew by 3.6 percent when adjusting for the 2012 accelerated sales payment tax program and a legislatively mandated transfer of funds, in a letter released last week.
The month-over-month revenue decrease is a normal phenomenon, as August is not a “significant month for revenue” and double-digit growth in July is typically followed by a decline, according to Brown’s letter. August 2013 also had one fewer reporting day than in 2012, causing a 5.5 percent decrease in the standard tax payments compared to last year.