Tax take is down: OK general revenue collections drop 10 percent in August
Published: September 14th, 2013
OKLAHOMA CITY — Oklahoma state government tax revenue subject to appropriation (known as general revenue receipts) declined in August, but that’s not a subtle hint of bad news for the economy.
Turns out, taxpayers in the Sooner State accessed exemptions and credits to keep more of their own money.
In his monthly analysis of general revenue fund (GRF) receipts, Secretary of Finance Preston L. Doerflinger said, “This was a single-month collection anomaly rather than any reflection of Oklahoma’s economy. One month does not diminish the strength Oklahoma’s economy has shown for going on three years now.”
Doerflinger and officials at the Oklahoma Tax Commission attributed the dip in direct revenue to reduced income tax collections, which were 27.9 percent ($40.2 million) below law year’s level.
Doerflinger stressed the commission “is processing far more corporate and personal income tax refunds at this time of the year than it normally does, which has led to temporary distortions of income tax collections. As a result, the GRF received no corporate income tax collections in August because corporate income tax refunds exceeded corporate income tax collections.”
His staff’s release on the August data continued, “Personal income tax collections fell $36.2 million or 25.9 percent from a year ago due in large part to an $11 million increase in personal income tax refunds processed compared to the same month a year ago.”
Total revenue for state government from all sources continues to be robust, previous analyses have found. The state has one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation, at 5.3 percent.
You may contact McGuigan at Patrick@capitolbeatok.com