FY 14 GRF receipts end year 4.8% below estimate
Annual collections slightly above prior year despite missing estimate
OKLAHOMA CITY — General Revenue Fund (GRF) collections for Fiscal Year
2014, which ended June 30, came in .03 percent above prior year collections and
4.8 percent below the official estimate.
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.
While FY 14 gross collections to the state
treasury totaled $11.7 billion and grew $469.3 million, or 4.2 percent, above FY
13, the GRF’s share of those collections totaled $5.6 billion, which was just $1.5
million, or .03 percent, above prior year collections and $283.8 million, or 4.8
percent, below the official estimate upon which the Fiscal Year 2014
appropriated state budget was based.
“It was an odd year for state finance that shows the need
to continually evaluate fiscal policies,” said Secretary of Finance,
Administration and Information Technology Preston L. Doerflinger. “The economy
is clearly strong and the government is collecting more revenue because of it,
but that revenue isn’t making it to the budget like it once did.”
In FY 2007, the GRF received 55 percent of
state tax collections for discretionary spending by elected officials. By the
close of FY 2014, just 48 percent of annual collections had gone to the GRF for
discretionary spending.
“Last year’s GRF
collections were basically flat even though total collections grew 4.2 percent,”
Doerflinger said. “The big reasons were increased costs for off-the-top
earmarks and decreased corporate income tax collections. Off-the-top
apportionments were up by $102 million while corporate income tax collections
were down by $145 million. That combined budgetary hit of $247 million proved
significant. Governor Fallin was right to caution against further off-the-top
spending last session, and I’m pleased the Legislature acted conscientiously by
adding no more off-the-top policies so further study can be done.”
Revenues
missed the monthly estimate in all but two months during FY 14, which caused
the state to nearly approach a revenue failure declaration that would have led
to mandatory appropriation reductions for most state agencies.
“The problem
was less with actual collections and more with forecasting and legislative apportionment
of those collections. Gross revenue collections were strong, but the revenue
didn’t wind up in the GRF at the level forecasted,” Doerflinger said. “This is
a predicament of government’s own creation that can be addressed.”
Total FY 14 GRF collections
were above prior year collections in three of the four major tax categories. GRF
collections from sales tax, a leading consumer confidence indicator, were above
prior year collections by $58.5 million, or 3.1 percent.
“The state economy was strong enough to
produce growth in other tax areas that balanced out those areas facing noneconomic
revenue declines,” Doerflinger said. “Sales tax revenues grew due to increased consumer
spending while favorable oil and gas prices helped boost gross production tax
collections. Those are good reflections on our economy, which we know is
continuing to expand and beat the nation in many key categories.”
FY 14 income tax collections to the GRF were down $173.9
million, or 6.8 percent, from prior year collections, almost entirely due to corporate
income tax declines. Corporate income tax collections to the GRF were below
prior year collections by $145.1 million, or 32.1 percent, and below the estimate
by $175.3 million, or 36.4 percent.
“The Tax Commission has received more amended corporate returns
that will continue driving corporate tax collections down in the near term, but
we’re cautiously optimistic that the trend will even out in the long term,”
Doerflinger said. “Other states are in the same boat. This trend is not
isolated to Oklahoma.”
Doerflinger is director of the Office of Management and
Enterprise Services, which issues the monthly GRF reports.
June GRF collections of $567.3 million were
$10.6 million, or 1.9 percent, above prior year collections and $32 million, or
5.3 percent, below the estimate.
Major tax categories in June contributed the
following amounts to the GRF:
-
Total income tax collections
of $277.8 million were $19.8 million, or 7.7 percent, more than prior year
collections and $12.9 million, or 4.4 percent, below the estimate.
Individual
income tax collections of $217.7 million were $29.6 million, or 15.7 percent,
more than prior year collections and $11.4 million, or 5.5 percent, above the
estimate.
Corporate income tax collections of $60.1 million were $9.7 million, or 14
percent, below prior year collections and $24.3 million, or 28.8 percent, below
the estimate.
-
Sales tax collections
of $170.6 million were $6.8 million, or 4.2 percent, more than prior year
collections and $7.2 million, or 4 percent, below the estimate.
-
Gross production tax
collections of $41.4 million were $8.2 million, or 24.8 percent, more than
prior year collections and $15.4 million, or 59.3 percent, above the
estimate.
Natural gas collections of $5.5 million were $1.7 million, or 46.3
percent, more than prior year collections and $2.3 million, or 69.7
percent, above the estimate.
Oil collections of $35.9 million were $6.5 million, or 22.1 percent, more
than prior year collections and $13.2 million, or 57.8 percent, above the
estimate.
-
Motor vehicle tax
collections of $20.1 million were $7.4 million, or 58 percent, more than
prior year collections and $3.4 million, or 20.7 percent, more than the
estimate.
-
Other revenue collections of $57.4 million were $31.6
million, or 35.5 percent, less than prior year collections and $30.7 million,
or 34.8 percent, below the estimate.
Monthly revenue tables are available on the OMES website: http://www.ok.gov/OSF/News/June_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.
|
