Sacramento does well in August

California received larger-than-expected tax revenues last month, according to the state Controller's office. Personal income taxes were 6.5 percent above projections made in the 2012-2013 budget. Sales taxes were up 8.1 percent, but corporate taxes were down sharply. "This month's positive total offsets losses seen in July, and brings our total revenues right in line with projections," said Controller John Chiang. The state remains deeply in debt, ending the last fiscal year with a cash deficit of $9.6 billion. One factoid caught my eye: New auto registrations from July to April totaled 1.1 million, compared with 982,000 for the same period a year earlier.