August revenue exceeds prior year, dips slightly below estimate

CapitolBeatOK Staff Report 

Published15-Sep-2010

NOTE: This is adapted from state Treasurer Scott Meacham’s monthly revenue report, received Tuesday (September 15).

Revenue collections for August show growth from the prior year, but are marginally below the estimate, State Treasurer Scott Meacham said as reports for the second month of Fiscal Year 2011 were released.

 Preliminary reports show General Revenue Fund collections for August 2010 were $350.8 million. That amount is: $15.5 million or 4.6 percent above the prior year; but $1.5 million or 0.4 percent below the official estimate.

 “August revenue collections continue to show growth over the prior year, and year-to-date collections remain above the prior year and estimate,” Meacham said. “Revenue growth, while still positive, slowed somewhat from what we had seen in prior months.”

Meacham said personal income tax and gross production tax collections, while slightly below the estimate for the month, do not raise significant concerns. “We are seeing small reductions in both areas compared to the estimate,” he said. “Natural gas prices have been somewhat lower during the summer months, which has impacted gross production collections. Lower income tax collections appear to be attributable to non-recurring items.”

Meacham said sales tax and motor vehicle tax collections are a bright spot for the state. “Continued growth in sales tax collections demonstrates public confidence in the economy, while motor vehicle collections show significant recovery in that sector.”

In August, net income taxes, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, produced $116.9 million, which is $3.3 million or 2.8 percent below the prior year and $4.2 million or 3.4 percent below the estimate.

For the month, personal income tax produced $116.3 million, which is $3.9 million or 3.2 percent below the prior year and $3.9 million or 3.3 percent below the estimate. Corporate income tax produced $0.6 million in August, which is $0.2 million or 28.2 percent below the estimate. In the prior year, corporate income tax collections were recorded as zero.

The state sales tax produced $136.8 million for the month, which is $9.3 million or 7.3 percent above the prior year and $7.1 million or 5.5 percent above the estimate.

The gross production tax on natural gas yielded $28.4 million in August, which is $7.6 million or 36.8 percent above the prior year but $0.7 million or 2.6 percent below the estimate.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $15.6 million in August, which is $7.8 million or 100.9 percent above the prior year and $4.9 million or 46.2 percent above the estimate.

Other revenue, including investment earnings, taxes on insurance, alcoholic beverages and others produced $53.1 million for the month. This is $6 million or 10.1 percent below the prior year and $8.7 million or 14 percent below the estimate.