MASSACHUSETTS TAX REVENUES continued to be remarkably resilient in December, as collections were up 8.8 percent over the same pre-COVID month a year ago and up 2.7 percent in the first six months of the fiscal year.

Total collections in December were $2.8 billion, up $230 million over December 2019. December is typically the fifth largest revenue month of the year, bringing in 9.5 percent of the state’s annual revenues on average.

Collections for June through December 2020 were $14.3 billion, up 2.7 percent compared to the same six-month period a year ago when COVID-19 was not ravaging the economy. The $14.3 billion represents just over 50 percent of the $28.4 billion the state is forecasting to take in during fiscal 2021, which ends June 30.

A big part of the December increase was in corporate and business taxes, which totaled $589 million, up $289 million over December 2019. In a statement, Department of Revenue Commissioner Geoffrey Snyder said the corporate and business tax increase reflected “one-time business restructuring events and timing factors such as changes to corporate estimated payment installment patterns.”