state revenue

Indiana is in the midst of a five-year reduction of its individual income tax rate. A bill unanimously approved by a Senate committee Tuesday would continue to cut the rate after that — but only if state revenues grow.

Gov. Eric Holcomb said the new state revenue forecast is "rosier" than he anticipated. But he said it still calls for a "discerning" approach to writing a new state budget.

Indiana lawmakers created an automatic taxpayer refund in 2011, but the state was at least $150 million away from hitting the refund trigger this year.

Indiana budget writers will have about $100 million less to work with than previously anticipated. The revenue forecast unveiled Wednesday will help determine what Indiana's new state budget will look like.

Sales and corporate income taxes did better than expected last month. And both tax collection categories are outperforming projections.

The revenue forecast is a big piece of the puzzle as lawmakers and the Holcomb administration prepare to write a new, two-year state budget in the upcoming 2019 legislative session.

The first two months of the fiscal year put the state more than $40 million below expectations. September made it more than twice as bad.

The state also closed with a reserve of $1.77 billion. That's about $400 million less than the year before.

Indiana tax collections came in above expectations for the second consecutive month in March.

Indiana took in $134 million more in taxes last month than fiscal analysts predicted.