Tequila may be keeping liquor sales afloat in Virginia, but despite declining revenue, the state still expects to increase its profit from the monopoly on the legal sale of distilled spirits in the fiscal year that ended on June 30.

The Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority won’t close the books on the most recent fiscal year until the end of August, but it expects to exceed the $230.5 million in profit that the General Assembly requires it to transfer to the state budget, even though net revenue was projected to fall by $17 million compared to the previous year.

Virginia ABC Authority revenue forecast upsets state budget expectations

MICHAEL MARTZ Richmond Times-Dispatch

In June, ABC officials projected raising that profit transfer to be as high as $244.8 million, depending on

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