TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – Kansas reports it collected $77 million more in taxes than expected in May.

The state Department of Revenue said Monday that Kansas collected $563 million in taxes last month when it anticipated $486 million. The surplus was 15.9 percent.

Tax collections for the budget year that began in July 2018 were nearly $6.7 billion, or $158 million more than anticipated, for a 2.4 percent surplus. And that’s after officials issued a more optimistic fiscal forecast in mid-April.

Kansas’ tax collections have exceeded expectations 23 of the past 24 months since legislators in 2017 repealed past income tax cuts championed by then-Republican Gov. Sam Brownback.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly has vetoed two tax relief plans from GOP lawmakers since taking office in January, saying the measures would undermine the state’s finances.

