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Mass. Tax Collections Up 9.2 Percent In March

Massachusetts revenue officials are reporting a strong month for tax collections.

The Department of Revenue announced on Monday that tax collections rose in March by $149 million, or 9.2 percent, when compared with March 2010. The state also exceeded its revised monthly benchmark by $164 million.

Officials say March is the biggest month of the year for corporate and business excise tax collections, which were up more than 6 percent from a year ago.

Income tax collections increased more than 14 percent on a year-to-year basis, while income tax refunds were down 4.5 percent.

Revenue Commissioner Navjeet Bal says the latest numbers — particularly the increase in withholding taxes — show that the economy is recovering.

"More people are working," she said. "People are working longer hours or people are getting paid more to work than they were before. In some cases, people even received bonuses."

With three months remaining in the fiscal year, tax collections are running nearly 9 percent higher than at this point last year, and are $145 million above revised benchmarks.

With reporting from The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom.

This program aired on April 4, 2011. The audio for this program is not available.

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