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.
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