STATE OF CONNECTICUT
NANCY WYMAN COMPTROLLER	OFFICE OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER 55 ELM STREET HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT 06106-1775	MARK OJAKIAN DEPUTY COMPTROLLER

State Comptroller Nancy Wyman today said that Connecticut's strengthening economy has raised her estimated 2007 budget surplus to $840.6 million.

Higher-than-expected revenue from the income tax led Wyman to increase her surplus projection by more than $213 million since last month.

"Connecticut's economy is showing solid growth," Wyman said. "We are creating jobs at a pace well ahead of last year, wage-growth and corporate profits remain strong and even the housing market is showing signs of improvement."

The state added 3,200 payroll jobs in April, bringing the total gain for the fiscal year to about 17,000 and boosting collections of the payroll-withholding portion of the income tax. Final tax payments made in April added about $100 million to the surplus estimate.

Overall, the income tax is expected to grow by more than nine-percent over last year. The performance of the income tax also means that the state is expected to pay out about $85 million less in tax refunds than expected.

Collections of the tax that corporations pay on their profits and the real estate conveyance tax grew by about $10 million each over the last month. After months of decline, sales of new homes jumped by 7.6 percent in the first quarter of 2007, Wyman said.

The State Comptroller appreciates input on this and other issues from residents of the state. Please feel free to contact her office by phone - (860) 702-3300; mail - OSC, 55 Elm Street, Hartford, CT 06106; or, via E-mail - osc.opinions@po.state.ct.us

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