GRF receipts miss estimate by 8.1% in February
YTD collections now 4.8% below projections
OKLAHOMA CITY — General Revenue
Fund (GRF) collections in February fell 8.1 percent below the official estimate
due in large part to another month of abnormally large corporate income tax
refunds.
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.
February collections to the GRF totaled $270.7 million,
which is $16.1 million, or 6.3 percent, more than collections for February 2013
and $23.7 million, or 8.1 percent, below the official revenue estimate upon
which the Fiscal Year 2014 appropriated state budget is based.
“Even though the estimate wasn’t met, getting any growth
in February is a good thing since it is almost always the weakest month of the
fiscal year,” said Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information
Technology Preston L. Doerflinger. “Big picture, not much has changed. Revenues
are sufficient to maintain the current year while agencies continue planning for
flat or slightly reduced appropriations next year.”
For the first eight months of FY 14, GRF collections
totaled $3.5 billion, which is $8.3 million, or 0.2 percent, above prior year
collections and $174 million, or 4.8 percent, below the official estimate.
“We had some rough waters early in the fiscal year, but we’re
sailing smoother now, as expected,” Doerflinger said.
Corporate income tax receipts continued to decline in
February, with no corporate income tax receipts being apportioned to the GRF after
another month of unusually large refunds, according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
“The continued decline in the corporate category is a real
quagmire because, by and large, Oklahoma companies are going strong and growing our economy. The catch is that isn't always directly
reflected in corporate income tax revenues,” Doerflinger said. “The big reason for the
decline isn’t decreased corporate income, but increased refunds on corporate
tax returns. Other likely factors are the recent expiration of a moratorium on several
business tax credits and new trends in business organizational decisions.”
Corporate income tax refunds in February totaled $21
million while corporate income collections totaled $8.3 million. More than 75
percent of the corporate income tax refund amount was attributed to one entity
for a refund due on a tax year 2012 corporate return, according to the Oklahoma
Tax Commission.
Doerflinger is director of the Office of Management and
Enterprise Services, which issues the monthly GRF reports.
Major tax categories in February contributed
the following amounts to the GRF:
-
Total income tax collections
of $31 million were all collected from individual income tax due to the
large amount of corporate refunds processed during the month. Total income
tax collections of $31 million were $11.8 million, or 61.7 percent, more
than prior year collections and $1 million, or 3.2 percent, above the estimate.
Individual income tax collections alone were $12.7 million, or 69.5
percent, more than prior year collections and $7.7 million, or 32.9
percent, above the estimate. The large discrepancy between February 2013
and February 2014 individual income tax collections is largely due to the
fact that February 2013 saw unusually low income tax collections due to a
remittance anomaly caused by repercussions from the federal government’s “fiscal
cliff” aversion in January 2013.
-
Sales tax collections
of $151.7 million were $390,547, or 0.3 percent, more than prior year
collections and $9.6 million, or 6 percent, below the estimate.
-
Gross production tax
collections of $34.9 million were $1.2 million, or 3.5 percent, less than
prior year collections and $1.9 million, or 5.1 percent, below the
estimate.
Natural gas collections of $4.2 million were $6.2 million, or 59.7 percent,
less than prior year collections and $12.9 million, or 75.4 percent, below
the estimate.
Oil collections of $30.7 million were $5 million, or 19.3 percent, more
than prior year collections and $11 million, or 56 percent, above the
estimate. Higher than expected oil prices continue to push revenue from
this source above the estimate.
-
Motor vehicle tax
collections of $17.1 million were $4.5 million, or 35.4 percent, more than
prior year collections and $1.8 million, or 11.9 percent, above the
estimate.
-
Other revenue collections of
$36 million were $632,822, or 1.8 percent, more than prior year
collections and $15 million, or 29.4 percent, below the estimate.
Monthly revenue tables are available on the OMES website:
http://www.ok.gov/OSF/News/February_2014_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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