Gross Receipts to Oklahoma state Treasury plunged as 2016 began


OKLAHOMA CITY — Monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury in January took their largest plunge in more than five years, State Treasurer Ken Miller announced last Friday (February 5).
January collections of $985.4 million are down by almost $150 million, or more than 13 percent, compared to the same month of the prior year. It is the first double-digit percentage reduction in monthly gross receipts since the treasurer’s office began tracking them in March 2010.
“The surplus-driven energy contraction continues to spill over into all of Oklahoma’s main revenue sources,” Miller said. “Every major revenue stream in January is smaller than a year ago. Collections from oil and natural gas gross production are off by more than 50 percent, and the downturn is suppressing income, sales, and motor vehicle tax collections.”
Twelve-month Gross Receipts to the Treasury shrank by almost 5 percent compared to the previous 12-month period, and – at $11.5 billion – is the lowest 12-month total since December 2013.
Monthly collections from oil and natural gas production taxes have been lower than the same month of the prior year for 13 straight months. January gross production collections are almost 55 percent lower than last January. Monthly receipts are based on production activity from November when the average price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $42.39 per barrel.

Other indicators

Oklahoma’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was set at 4.1 percent in December, down by one-tenth of one percentage point from November, according to the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.
The number of those listed as unemployed has increased by 6,904 in the past year. The national unemployment rate was set at 5 percent in December.
The Business Conditions Index for Oklahoma in December remained below growth neutral for a ninth consecutive month, but climbed to a weak 48.3 from December’s 35.5. Numbers below 50 indicate economic contraction is expected during the next three to six month.

January collections

Receipts for January set gross collections at $985.4 million, down $148.8 million or 13.1 percent from January 2015.
Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $377.07 million, a decrease of $73.07 million or 16.2 percent from the previous January.
Personal income tax collections for the month are $341.47 million, down by $32.71 million, or 8.7 percent from the prior year. Corporate collections are $35.6 million, down by $40.36 million or 53.1 percent.
Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $374.62 million in January. That is $31.22 million or 7.7 percent less than January 2015.
Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $25.24 million in January, a decrease of $30.56 million or 54.8 percent from last January. Compared to December reports, gross production collections are down by $12.47 million or 33.1 percent.
Motor vehicle taxes produced $67.24 million, down by $1.27 million or 1.9 percent from the same month of last year.
Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, horse race gambling and alcoholic beverages, produced $141.22 million during the month. That is $12.68 million or 8.2 percent less than last January.

Twelve-month collections

Gross revenue totals $11.5 billion during the past 12 months. That is $576.13 million or 4.8 percent lower than collections from the previous 12 months.
Gross income taxes generated $4.35 billion for the February 2015-January 2016 period, reflecting an increase of $51.32 million or 1.2 percent from the February 2014-January 2015 period.
Personal income tax collections total $3.76 billion, up by $41.85 million or 1.1 percent from the prior year. Corporate collections are $587.03 million for the period, an increase of $9.47 million or 1.6 percent over the previous period.
Sales taxes for the period generated $4.35 billion, a decrease of $130.54 million or 2.9 percent from the prior year.
Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $443.7 million during the past 12 months, down by $432.2 million or 49.3 percent from the previous 12-month period.
Motor vehicle collections total $762.65 million for the period. This is a drop of $12.83 million or 1.7 percent from the trailing period.
Other sources generated $1.6 billion, down $51.87 million or 3.1 percent from the previous year.

About Gross Receipts to the Treasury

Since March 2011, the Treasurer’s Office has issued the monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury report, which provides a timely and broad view of the state’s macro economy.
It is provided in conjunction with the General Revenue Fund (GRF) allocation report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides important information to state agencies for budgetary planning purposes.
The GRF receives just less than half of the state’s gross receipts with the remainder paid in rebates and refunds, remitted to cities and counties, and placed into other state funds.