May Gross Receipts to Oklahoma treasury: Lowest in six years


OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahoma’s monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury report indicates continued contraction in the state economy as collections are the lowest May total in six years, State Treasurer Ken Miller announced Monday (June 6).
All major revenue streams – income, sales, gross production, and motor vehicle taxes – are lower than the prior year. The monthly bottom line has been less than the same month of the prior year for 13 consecutive months.
“As a general indicator of economic activity in Oklahoma, the May Gross Receipts to the Treasury report contains no surprises as the state deals with the ongoing spillover effects of the supply-driven energy industry downturn on income and consumption,” Miller said.
After hitting a 17-year low in April, oil and natural gas gross production collections rose slightly over the month, reflecting a modest rebound in crude oil prices. However, May gross production tax payments are lower than payments of a year ago by almost 37 percent. This month’s receipts are based on oil prices in March, when the spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $37.55 per barrel.
Monthly gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income tax payments, are down more than 9 percent, while sales tax collections are off by 6 percent and motor vehicle tax collections dipped by 1.2 percent.
For a ninth consecutive month, 12-month Gross Receipts to the Treasury are lower than the prior 12-month period. For the period ending in May, the 12-month total is down by almost 7 percent.

Other indicators

After 12 consecutive months below growth neutral, the Business Conditions Index for Oklahoma rose to 51.4 in May. The index based on a survey of supply managers is up from 49.4 in April. Numbers above 50 mean economic growth is expected during the next three to six months.
The state’s unemployment rate increased to 4.5 percent in April, up by one-tenth of a percentage point from the prior month. The nation’s unemployment rate was set at 5 percent in April.

May collections

The report for May shows gross receipts at $782.5 million, down $61.1 million or 7.2 percent from May 2015.
Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $246.9 million, a drop of $25.2 million or 9.2 percent from the previous May.
Personal income tax collections for the month are $237 million, down $6.3 million or 2.6 percent from the prior year. Corporate collections are $9.8 million, down by $18.8 million or 65.7 percent.
Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $335.4 million in May. That is $21.3 million or 6 percent below May 2015.
Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $24.1 million in May, a decrease of $13.9 million or 36.7 percent from last May. Compared to April reports, gross production collections are up by $3.2 million or 15.6 percent.
Motor vehicle taxes produced $58.8 million, down by $686,000 or 1.2 percent from the prior year.
Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, horse race gambling and alcoholic beverages, produced $117.4 million during the month. That is $21,000 or 0.02 percent more than last May.

Twelve-month collections

Between June 2015 and May 2016, gross revenue totals $11.2 billion. That is $830.2 million or 6.9 percent below collections for the previous 12-month period.
Gross income taxes generated $4.2 billion for the period, reflecting a drop of $214 million or 4.9 percent from the prior 12 months.
Personal income tax collections total $3.6 billion, down by $181.4 million or 4.8 percent from the June 2014 to May 2015 period. Corporate collections are $558.1 million for the period, a decrease of $32.6 million or 5.5 percent over the previous period.
Sales taxes for the period generated $4.3 billion, a decrease of $176.2 million or 3.9 percent from the prior 12-months.
Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $377.1 million during the 12 months, down by $363.2 million or 49.1 percent from the previous period.
Motor vehicle collections total $762.4 million for the period. This is a decrease of $3.8 million or 0.5 percent from the trailing 12 months.
Other sources generated $1.6 billion, down $72.9 million or 4.4 percent from the previous 12 months.

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 allocation report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides important information to state agencies for budgetary planning purposes.
The General Revenue Fund receives about half of the state’s gross receipts with the remainder paid in rebates and refunds, remitted to cities and counties, and placed into off-the-top earmarks to other state funds.