And the money keeps coming in

According to the Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB)

Net general fund revenues totaled $2.241 billion in October 2022, $126 million (6.0 percent) more than forecast in February. Net receipts from individual income, sales, and other taxes were higher than forecast, more than offsetting lower than expected net corporate tax receipts. For fiscal year 2023, year to date receipts are now $9.265 billion, $415 million (4.7 percent) more than forecast.

Tax revenue collections in the 2022 Fiscal year totaled $30.33 billion, 10 percent — or $2.93 billion — more than was forecast in February of this year. This means, as of right now, tax collections have exceeded the February $9.3 billion forecasted surplus by over $3.3 billion.

We certainly cannot predict what path tax revenue collections will take for the remaining eight months of the budgeting biennuem. One thing is for sure, however. With extra unneeded billions in tax revenue at the Capitol, come next January, the incoming legislature will have a big decision to make.

Will they give it back?

American Experiment research has shown, for numerous reasons, that the surplus is best left with taxpayers, in the form of tax cuts. Considering that Democrats have mostly argued for increased spending in the past, their taking control of the legislature will likely make that difficult to achieve.

But regardless, anybody with sound economic reasoning will agree that tax cuts still remain the best option on what to do with the massive state surplus, especially considering that numerous other states have taken significant tax reforms in recent years, leaving us behind.