DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Tax collections in Iowa are up compared to the same halfway point a year ago. Net state receipts totaled more than $3.1 billion from July through December. That’s about $264 million, or about 9 percent, higher than the first six months of the previous fiscal year. The Legislative Services Agency says the percentage growth rate will likely dip in January because of processing days in the calendar.

The Iowa Revenue Estimating Conference projected last month that the state treasury would end the current fiscal year with nearly $6.4 billion. That would be about a 3.3 percent increase over the last fiscal year.