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March 14, 2017
February
GRF receipts above estimate
Number
high after change in scholarship fund payment
OKLAHOMA
CITY — A change in the payment date for a higher education scholarship fund has
caused total General Revenue Fund receipts to appear artificially higher than
expected at 8.3 percent above the estimate for February as corporate income tax
collections remain unpredictable.
A change in the final $15.4 million payment of personal income tax collections
from February to March to fund the Oklahoma’s Promise scholarship fund was made
because of cash-flow concerns, said Secretary of Finance, Administration and
Information Technology Preston L. Doerflinger.
The payment change was made after monthly GRF estimates were set. Had the
payment been made in February as previously scheduled, monthly revenues would
be up just 1.5 percent from the estimate and total year-to-date collections
would be 2.5 percent below the estimate, rather than 2 percent.
“February is a historically low month for collections so we kept the
projections low,” Doerflinger said. “Being above a low projection is no reason
to celebrate. We have already declared a 0.7 percent revenue failure and future
declarations may be necessary. Agencies should be prepared.”
Even with receipts being above the estimate and including the 0.7 percent
agency reductions, the state was still forced to borrow money from other
treasury funds to make the necessary allocations to state agencies.
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 appropriated state budget. GRF collections are revenues that remain for
the appropriated state budget after rebates, refunds and mandatory
apportionments. Gross collections, reported by the State Treasurer, are all
revenues collected by the state before rebates, refunds and mandatory
apportionments.
GRF collections in February totaled $248 million, which is $18.9 million, or
8.3 percent, above the official estimate upon which the fiscal year 2017
appropriated state budget was based and $22.5 million, or 10 percent, above
prior year collections. Total GRF collections through the first eight months of
FY 2017 are $3.1 billion, which is $64.9 million, or 2 percent, below the
estimate and $189.1 million, or 5.7 percent, below prior year collections.
February’s collections mark the fifth consecutive month that corporate income
tax collections were consumed by refunds. In fact, $10.7 million from personal
income tax collections was used to pay the corporate refunds. This month’s
refunds show a 159.7 percent increase over last year.
“The instability of corporate income tax collections is evident again, and the
state can’t rely on them for consistent revenue,” Doerflinger said. “We should
seriously consider the governor’s proposal to eliminate this volatile revenue
source, add stability to budgeting and stimulate economic development.”
Doerflinger is director of OMES, which issues the monthly GRF reports.
Major tax categories in February contributed the following amounts to the GRF:
• Total income tax collections of $22.4 million were $9.2
million, or 70 percent, above the estimate and $7.2 million, or 24.3 percent,
below the prior year.
Individual income tax collections of $22.4 million were $11.3 million, or 101.4
percent, above the estimate and $4.2 million, or 15.9 percent, below the prior
year.
Corporate income tax collections were entirely consumed by refunds and
contributed nothing to the General Revenue Fund for the fifth consecutive
month. For the same month last year, $2.9 million was deposited into the GRF.
• Sales tax collections of $141.0 million were $8 million, or
5.4 percent, below the estimate and $300,000, or 0.2 percent, above the prior
year.
• Gross production tax collections of $15.3 million were
$10.5 million, or 219.6 percent, above the estimate and $10.3 million, or 205.7
percent, above the prior year.
Natural gas collections of $13.2 million were $9.1, or 218.9 percent, above the
estimate and $8.7 million, or 192.6 percent, above the prior year.
Oil collections of $2 million were $1.4 million, or 224.3 percent, above the
estimate and $1.6 million, or 331.8 percent, above the prior year.
• Motor vehicle tax collections of $14.6 million were $1.3
million, or 8.1 percent, below the estimate and $1.9 million, or 11.6 percent,
below the prior year.
• Other revenue collections of $54.7 million were $8.5
million, or 18.4 percent, above the estimate and $21 million, or 62.2 percent,
above the prior year.
Revenue tables can be viewed on the OMES website: https://www.ok.gov/OSF/News/February_2017_Financial_Report_Data_Tables.html
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