Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller reports rising state tax revenues for September



OKLAHOMA CITY — September Gross Receipts to the Treasury provide further evidence of economic recovery in Oklahoma, as total collections top those from the same month of the prior year for a sixth consecutive month, State Treasurer Ken Miller announced last week.
Gross receipts for September are $1 billion, ahead of collections from last September by $72.4 million, or 7.7 percent. Gross receipts from the past 12 months, at $11.2 billion, are more than those from the prior 12 months by 2.3 percent, or just over $250 million, Miller said.
“Economic momentum in the state is going up,” Miller said. “In September, gross receipts show increased income and consumption, attributable at least in part to increased oil field activity during the past several months.”
All major revenue streams, except for motor vehicle taxes, are up over the prior year in September. The gross production tax on oil and natural gas is ahead of last September’s receipts by almost 60 percent. Gross income tax collections are up by more than 5 percent, and sales tax is higher by more than 10 percent. Motor vehicle receipts are off from last year’s receipts by 6.7 percent.
The 12-month picture shows continued, steady growth. Only corporate income tax payments are shown as lower than those from the previous 12-month period. Growth in individual income, sales, gross production and motor vehicle taxes show increases ranging from 0.5 percent to 41.8 percent.

New revenue boosts bottom line

New revenue resulting from legislation enacted earlier this year is boosting monthly receipts. The tax commission attributes a total of $23.8 million in September to those law changes. The largest amount, $11.1 million, came from a new 1.25 percent state sales tax on motor vehicles. A $5 fee on motor vehicle registration increased collections by $1.5 million for the month.
Changing the 1 percent horizontal drilling gross production tax rate to 4 percent generated $6.9 million during the month. Elimination and suspension of gross production rebate payments added $3 million to gross collections.
Ending a discount for businesses that remit sales tax added $1.3 million for the month, and a new fee assessed on professional sports tickets contributed $102,473.
Since August, the law changes have yielded $40.5 million in new gross revenue.

Other indicators

Oklahoma’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate rose by one-tenth of a percentage point to 4.5 percent in August, according to figures released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. State jobless numbers improved by one-half of a percentage point over the year. The U.S. jobless rate was set at 4.4 percent for the month.
After dropping below growth neutral in July, the Oklahoma Business Conditions Index topped growth neutral in August and September. The September index was set at 62.7 up from 56.2 in August. Numbers above 50 indicate anticipated positive economic growth in the next three to six months. The index has been above 50 during eight of the past nine months.

September collections

September gross collections total $1 billion, up $72.4 million, or 7.7 percent, from September 2016.
Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $368 million, an increase of $18.6 million, or 5.3 percent, from the previous September.
Individual income tax collections for the month are $297.5 million, up by $14.1 million, or 5 percent, from the prior year. Corporate collections are $70.5 million, an increase of $4.5 million, or 6.7 percent.
Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $384.2 million in September. That is $35.8 million, or 10.3 percent, more than September 2016.
Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $50.2 million in September, an increase of $18.7 million, or 59.4 percent, from last September. Compared to August reports, gross production collections are up by $6.4 million, or 14.6 percent.
Motor vehicle taxes produced $60 million, down by $4.3 million, or 6.7 percent, from the same month of last year.
Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including use taxes, along with taxes on fuel, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages, produced $149.6 million during the month. That is $3.6 million, or 2.5 percent, more than last September.

Twelve-month collections

Gross revenue totals $11.2 billion from the past 12 months. That is $251.8 million, or 2.3 percent, more than collections from the previous 12 months.
Gross income taxes generated $4 billion for the October 2016-September 2017 period, reflecting a decrease of $39.4 million, or 1 percent, from the October 2015-September 2016 period.
Individual income tax collections total $3.6 billion, up by $16.2 million, or 0.5 percent, from the prior 12 months. Corporate collections are $403.5 million for the period, a decrease of $55.6 million, or 12.1 percent, over the previous period.
Sales taxes for the period generated $4.3 billion, an increase of $81.9 million, or 1.9 percent, from the prior year.
Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $484.8 million during the past 12 months, up by $142.9 million, or 41.8 percent, from the previous 12-month period.
Motor vehicle collections total $756.1 million for the period. This is an increase of $6.2 million, or 0.8 percent, from the trailing period.
Other sources generated $1.6 billion, up by $60.2 million, or 3.8 percent, from the previous 12 months.

About Gross Receipts to the Treasury: Since March 2011, the Office of the State Treasurer 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 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 off-the-top earmarks to other state funds