By Staff
State tax collections across these United States surged 11.7 percent in the first quarter, January, February and March 2005.
That's the biggest year-over-year gain since 1991, glowed a front-page story in Tuesday's Wall Street Journal.
Some states enjoyed really large revenue gains - Alaska, California, Virginia, Florida, Arizona and Hawaii.
Unfortunately, we live in Michigan, which never seems to be able to find a seat on the trend train.
The Journal article referenced an analysis by Nicholas Jenny of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government.
Jenny wrote, "Revenue growth was strongest in the Far West region (24.2 percent) and weakest in the Great Lakes states (5 percent).
While 18 states recorded double-digit percentage gains in tax revenue, Michigan distinguished itself by standing with New Mexico and Oklahoma as one of only three to experience declines.
In fact, Michigan had the smallest revenue growth of any state - 1.2 percent - for the nine-month period from July 2004 to March 2005.
No other state fell under 3-percent growth compared to the same period a year ago.
Jenny wrote, "Employment growth is now solid and has extended to every region of the country. Employment grew in every state except Michigan" during the first three months this year.
An interview in the Detroit Free Press with state Treasurer Jay Rising identified one silver lining of the uptick variety amid the ravaged landscape of auto manufacturing and supplier woes and the continued phase-in of tax cuts which conspire to choke off revenue growth.
In April, tax payments made with individual income tax returns jumped in Michigan.
The Treasury Department expected about $500 million in checks with tax filings and that projection was exceeded by about $120 million.
Other states are seeing similar surges. The reasons are murky, but might involve capital gains from last year's modest stock market recovery.
In the meantime, waiting for our state to rebound as others have, the economic pain Michiganians feel is real, not imagination or exaggeration.