I don't want to irritate you or anything. But:
Indiana's state tax collections continue to run well ahead of a year ago, with last month's revenue nearly 5 percent greater than in December 2010.
Figures released Thursday by the State Budget Agency show that the nearly $1.2 billion collected was also $12 million more than what was projected in the state's most recent revenue forecast.
According to the latest revenue forecast, Indiana is on track to end this fiscal year with a reserve of 12.2 percent. The extra 2.2 percent, or $333 million, would be subject to the refund mechanism.
What that means is that if the new forecast is accurate, each taxpayer would get about $55 back.
Of course, other interests that receive state funding, including schools and universities, first want to fight for a chunk of that cash.
And on Wednesday, the General Assembly's two chief budget architects chafed at the prospect of tripping the taxpayer refund — an indication that although Daniels might have won the automatic refund as a political victory, it might never happen in practice.
Ah, poor babies "chafed." The more they get, the more reluctant they will be to give it back. And these are two supposedly conservative Republicans.
