GRF collections down 1.5% over first half of fiscal year

-- MEDIA RELEASE --

For Immediate Release

PRESTON L. DOERFLINGER
Director and Secretary
of Finance, Administration and Information Technology

MARY FALLIN
Governor

State of Oklahoma
Office of Management and Enterprise Services

Jan. 14, 2014

GRF collections down 1.5% over first half of fiscal year 

Softer shopping season, corporate tax refunds cause December dip

OKLAHOMA CITY — Halfway into the fiscal year, state General Revenue Fund (GRF) collections are 1.5 percent below last year’s total and 6.7 percent below the official estimate for the six-month period.

As state government’s main operating fund, the GRF is the key indicator of state government’s fiscal status and the predominant funding source for the annual state budget. Made up of nearly 70 revenue sources, the GRF is where all taxes flow except those dedicated to specific programs.

“Every state agency needs a plan for flat appropriations and a plan for a reduced appropriations, as both scenarios grow more likely by the day,” said Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston L. Doerflinger.

December 2013 collections to the GRF totaled $509.5 million, which is $9.4 million or 1.8 percent below December 2012 and $40.7 or 7.4 percent below the estimate upon which the Fiscal Year 2014 state budget is based.

“As has been the case all year, December saw noneconomic factors continue to chip away at revenues available for legislative appropriations,” Doerflinger said. “The state economy continues to grow and produce more tax revenue, but less of that money is reaching the GRF for discretionary spending due to the increasing number of revenue policies that take money off the top for other dedicated purposes.”

December tax collections showed that while the annual boost from the holiday shopping season occurred as usual, it was not as strong as in past years. Sales tax collections in December were $165 million, which is $1.9 million or 1.2 percent more than the prior year and $8 million or 4.6 percent below the estimate.

In addition, December saw a continuing trend of larger-than-expected corporate income tax rebates causing decreases to corporate income tax collections, which were $29 million or 43.7 percent less than prior year collections and $31.3 million or 45.6 below the estimate.

For the first half of FY 14, GRF collections totaled $2.6 billion, which is $40 million or 1.5 percent below prior year collections and $187.5 million or 6.7 percent below the official revenue estimate upon which the FY 14 appropriated state budget is based.

“At this time, total revenues are below the estimate but still adequate to make it through the current year without mandatory spending reductions,” Doerflinger said.

Doerflinger is director of the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which issues the monthly GRF reports and is responsible for building the executive budget Gov. Mary Fallin will present to the Legislature on Feb. 3 for FY 15, which begins July 1. By law, the governor’s budget must be based on the $6.9 billion official revenue estimate approved Dec. 19 by the state Board of Equalization, which was $170.8 million or 2.4 percent less than the $7.1 billion legislatively-approved FY 14 state budget. The board will update its estimate in late February.

“Next year’s budget will be tight, but manageable,” Doerflinger said. “From a budgeting perspective, we’re fine with having less revenue to work with because it further reinforces the need to prioritize spending like a business would. Many areas of government still have plenty of room to tighten the belt to allow for the priorities of the day to be addressed.”

Major tax categories in December 2013 contributed the following amounts to the GRF:

  • Individual and corporate income tax collections of $237.3 million were $40.1 million or 14.4 percent less than prior year collections and $51.4 million or 17.8 percent below the estimate.

    Individual income tax collections of $199.9 million were $11.1 million or 5.3 percent less than prior year collections and $20.1 million or 9.1 percent below the estimate.

    Corporate income tax collections of $37.4 million were $29 million or 43.7 percent less than prior year collections and $31.3 million or 45.6 percent below the estimate.

  • Sales tax collections of $165 million were $1.9 million or 1.2 percent more than the prior year and $8 million or 4.6 percent below the estimate.
  • Gross production tax collections of $34.6 million were $26.3 million or 316.5 percent more than prior year collections and $20.8 million and 150.6 percent above the estimate. The large percentage changes are due to the fact that the $150 million oil collection threshold that must be reached before oil revenue is apportioned to the GRF was reached one month earlier than last year and one month earlier than anticipated this year.

    Natural gas collections of $1.6 million were $1.3 million or 43.8 percent less than prior year collections and $12.2 million or 88.1 percent less than the estimate.

    Oil collections of $33 million were $27.6 million or 511.5 percent more than prior year collections. According to the official estimate, no oil collections were expected in December.

  • Motor vehicle tax collections of $14.5 million were $2.7 million or 22.6 percent more than prior year collections and $768,246 or 5 percent less than the estimate.
  • Other revenue collections of $58.1 million were $303,643 or 0.5 percent less than prior year collections and $1.3 million or 2.3 percent below the estimate.

Revenue tables are available on the OMES website: http://www.ok.gov/OSF/News/December_2013_Financial_Report_Data_Tables.html


Media Contact

JOHN ESTUS
Director of Public Affairs
(405) 521-3097 | john.estus@omes.ok.gov

About the Office of Management and Enterprise Services

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission: To lead, support, and serve. For more information, visit OMES.OK.gov.