cashregisterBISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota continues to see less-than-expected tax collections due to declining oil drilling activity.
 
     Office of Management and Budget Director Pam Sharp says overall tax revenues through December are about $215 million less than projected.
 
     Most of the drop comes from weakened sales tax revenue, which provides the biggest share of the budget for North Dakota government.
 
     Last month, Sharp ordered a fresh revenue forecast to address revenue shortfalls in the current two-year budget cycle that began July 1.
 
     The Legislature’s Advisory Council on Revenue Forecasting is meeting Friday to discuss the new forecast and updated projections for the price of North Dakota oil.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – A survey shows some bankers had a dire view of the rural economy in their 10 Western and Plains states.
 
     A report released Thursday says January’s Rural Mainstreet Index plunged to 34.8 from 41.5 in December. It’s the lowest overall index figure since August 2009. Survey officials say any score below 50 on any of the survey’s indexes suggests that factor will decline.
 
     Creighton University economist Ernie Goss oversees the monthly survey of rural bankers and says it’s the fifth straight month for a decline. He again blames lower prices for agriculture and energy commodities and downturns in manufacturing.
 
     The farmland and ranchland price index dropped to 23.9 in January from December’s 28.8
 
     Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.