Preliminary state revenue figures for February show a startling $45.5 percent jump ahead of projections, but roughly $40 million of that may just be the result of a processing error at the state Tax Commission - meaning individual tax refunds that should have been processed in February were held up and instead will be processed in March, according to Wayne Hammon, Gov. Butch Otter's budget chief. The figures show that individual income taxes for the month came in $42.1 million ahead of projections; Hammon estimated that roughly $40 million of that was due to the processing error. The total puts state revenue $56.3 million ahead of forecasts year to date, and if the $40 million comes back out, it's still $16.3 million ahead. "Generally speaking, I'd say these numbers reflect a very positive month for the state," Hammon said. "If only the unemployment would go away - the other economic indicators we watch are doing pretty well."
    
The preliminary figures for the month showed that corporate income tax was up by $5.2 million, though sales taxes were down by $2.5 million.