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Virginia tax revenues soared by more than $400 million in May over the same month in 2018, ensuring the state has enough money to pay for budgeted spending this year and setting the stage for tax relief before next fall’s elections for state taxpayers who paid more because of federal tax reforms.

The 22.5% increase in revenues puts Virginia at 7.9% growth in the first 11 months of the fiscal year, more than double the forecast of 3.3%, but that does not reflect $450 million that the budget ordered to be set aside for tax relief as well as other precautions against relying on one-time tax payments.

Secretary of Finance Aubrey Layne cautioned against relying on the additional revenues for tax relief in the special legislative session that Gov. Ralph Northam has called on July 9. It will consider potential restrictions on firearms in the aftermath of a mass shooting that claimed 12 victims in Virginia Beach on May 31.

“We have to certify how much of the [revenue] overage is really related to tax reform,” Layne said in an interview Wednesday. “We won’t know by July 9.”