TRENTON — State revenue collections outpaced the Christie administration's projections for the sixth consecutive month in May, according to state Treasury figures released today.

The collections are beating Gov. Chris Christie's more modest projections, revised in February amid disappointing economic news.

The strong revenue figures got a boost from better-than-expected income and sales tax collections, which account for more than half of the state’s overall revenue collections.

“The report reflects ongoing improvement in the economic conditions of state residents,” said the state’s chief economist Charles Steindel. “Income tax collections continue to grow rapidly, even after the receipt of large final payments in April.”

Overall, income tax collections are up 13 percent this year and revenue from the sales tax is up 3 percent.

Despite the surges, overall revenue collections are only beating the administration's projections by less than 1 percent, due largely to disappointing collections in the early part of the budget year.

The state collected $22.77 billion in revenue through May, slightly higher than the $22.69 billion Christie had anticipated. June is the final month of the budget year, and those monthly figures won’t come out for a few weeks.

In February, facing a sluggish economy, Christie revised his ambitious revenue projections downward. The revision gave credibility to his critics who said he was using unrealistic revenue projections to bolster his political credentials nationally.

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