The collection was $9.7million, or 2.5 percent more than the July 2017 amount. Or, July’s collections were $9.7 million, or 2.5 percent more than the amount collected in July 2017. The official estimate is the amount of money used to create a budget for the current fiscal years during the 2018 legislative session. The governor can make budget cuts or call for special session if the revenue falls short of the official estimate. Due to slow collections, multiple budget cuts were necessary, including more than 10% for certain agencies, during the 2016-17 fiscal year. The revenue collections started to recover and increased some in the last fiscal year. The new fiscal year has seen collections continue to rise, though they are slowing down. The strong collections of personal income tax and sales tax, which are the largest sources of state revenue are likely indicators of a stronger state economy. The sales tax collection is up $6.5 million, or 10%. Income tax collections are up 12.1 per cent or $13.85million. The trend of slowing corporate tax collections in recent years continued in July, with a 24.7 percent drop in corporate tax collections. This is $3.5 million less than in previous years. Businesses have received many of the tax cuts that were passed in recent years. These tax cuts will cost more than $700,000,000 from the state general fund. In July, the tax on insurance premiums, which have increased by more than twice as much in recent years, fell to $10.35million 25 percent. The tax on casinos increased $558,466 (or 4.8%) Officials hope to see an increase in casino taxes due to sports betting. This is a new trend in Mississippi, where a Supreme Court decision allowed states to allow betting on sporting events. Mississippi is the only Southeast state to allow sports betting. The Legislative Budget Committee compiled the July numbers.