Randy Krehbiel
Tulsa World
A huge shortfall in personal income-tax revenue drove down January’s General Revenue Fund collections 8.5 percent below expectations, the Office of Management and Enterprise Services said Tuesday.
Total general revenue for the month was $605.7 million, or $56 million below projections. The number is $4.9 million or 0.8 percent, below the same month a year ago.
“While the year has been solid, January wasn’t particularly strong and I doubt the coming months will be, either,” said Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston Doerflinger. “We’re fortunate to have had a strong first half of the year to bank cash ahead of the weaker revenue months the rest of the year could bring.”Tuesday’s report comes as the Legislature begins its annual budget-making process, and as state officials ready a final revenue projection for the fiscal year that begins July 1. That figure is expected to be as much as $380 million less than for the current budget year.
General revenue is the principal source for legislative appropriations.
The FY 2016 budget proposed last week by Gov. Mary Fallin assumed a $298.1 million shortfall. Doerflinger said the shortfall is likely to be larger in the final estimate to be approved by the Board of Equalization next Tuesday.
“Every indication I’m seeing has the budget gap growing next week,” Doerflinger said.
Among the leading revenue categories, personal and corporate income taxes were $291.3 million, or 19 percent below estimate. Personal income tax, by far the larger of the two, was off $74.6 million, or nearly 25 percent below projections.
Sales-tax receipts were $185.6 million, or 4.7 percent above the estimate and 9.5 percent above the prior year.
Gross production taxes were $30.4 million, or 21.2 percent above expectations but well below the same month a year ago.
For the first seven months of the budget year, General Revenue Fund collections are 1.3 percent above the estimate and 5.4 percent ahead of the same period a year ago.
