Idaho state revenues exceeded expectations in January, led by a healthy bump in sales tax receipts.

The January sales-tax receipts reflect December purchases. They came in at $103.7 million, nearly 8 percent higher than expected.

It's hard say for sure whether the increase came from Christmas shoppers digging deeper for presents, since the sources of the sales tax collections aren't reported. But the increase is a sign that "perhaps the economy is doing reasonably well," says Boise economist John Church.

Overall, taxes added $267.8 million to the state's general fund in January, $6.3 million more than projected. Both personal income tax and corporate income tax missed their projections, by $1.1 million and $400,000 respectively.

Total tax revenue collections for the fiscal year to date are $1.52 billion, up 5.8 percent from the same period last year. Total collections are nearly 1 percent ahead of projections.

Tax collections determine how much the Legislature can spend on state-government programs, including aid to public schools, colleges and universities. Those programs have been cut since the recession began in December 2007. State lawmakers now meeting in Boise think they'll be able to avoid further cuts this year and might be able to partially restore some funding in the fiscal year that starts July 1.

Bill Roberts: 377-6408