SACRAMENTO -- Gov. Jerry Brown received more good news Tuesday as he prepared to release his new budget proposal, due at the end of the week.
The last six months generated $2 billion more income tax revenue than expected, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Legislative Analyst's Office.
That's 8% more money than administration officials were counting on.
The state's coffers received much of that boost in December, with income taxes at $1.4 billion above projections for the month.
The Legislative Analyst's Office described that as a positive sign for the budget because December is a good indicator of how much taxes the state's wealthy are paying.
California relies heavily on taxing the wealthy -- in 2011, the top 1% of income earners paid 41% of state income taxes, according to statistics from the Franchise Tax Board.
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Twitter: @chrismegerian