OMES
Federal decisions affecting federal and state income tax return processing timing contributed to February General Revenue Fund (GRF) collections far exceeding the official estimate and prior year collections.
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. GRF collections, reported by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services (OMES), 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 prior to rebates, refunds and mandatory apportionments.
February GRF collections of $301.5 million were $28.6 million, or 10.5 percent, above the official estimate upon which the fiscal year 2015 appropriated state budget is based and $30.8 million, or 11.4 percent, above prior year collections. Total GRF collections for the first eight months of FY 2015 were $3.7 billion, which is $71.5 million, or 2 percent, above the estimate and $205.2 million, or 5.9 percent, above the prior year.
Higher than expected collections and lower than expected refunds contributed to February income tax collections exceeding the estimate by 266.8 percent and prior year collections by 87.5 percent. A major contributor to the significant monthly income tax collection difference is an Internal Revenue Service decision causing state and federal income tax returns to be processed at slightly different times than they were last year, according to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
“Tax return timing anomalies aside, it was helpful to have a strong February ahead of the fiscal uncertainty the state faces heading into next year,” said Secretary of Finance, Administration and Information Technology Preston L. Doerflinger. “Lest anyone get too excited, we have 611 million reasons not to read too much into one good revenue month. Agencies should continue exercising tight fiscal controls in the current year while planning for reduced appropriations next year.”
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 $58.2 million were $42.3 million, or 266.8 percent, above the estimate and $27.1 million, or 87.5 percent, above the prior year.
Individual income tax collections of $57.3 million were $41.5 million, or 261.5 percent, above the estimate and $26.3 million, or 84.9 percent, above the prior year.
Corporate income tax collections of $827,968 were 100 percent above the estimate and the prior year, as none were deposited into the GRF in February last year and all collections were expected to be paid out in rebates in the current month. - Sales tax collections of $159 million were $0.4 million, or 0.3 percent, above the estimate and $7.4 million, or 4.9 percent, above the prior year.
- Gross production tax collections of $30.3 million were $2.4 million, or 7.2 percent, below the estimate and $4.5 million, or 13 percent, below the prior year.
Oil collections of $22.1 million were $2.9 million, or 15.4 percent, above the estimate and $8.5 million, or 27.8 percent, below the prior year.
Gas collections of $8.2 million were $5.3 million, or 39.3 percent, below the estimate and $4 million, or 95.3 percent, above the prior year. - Motor vehicle tax collections of $14.8 million were $0.4 million, 2.8 percent, below the estimate and $2.3 million, or 13.4 percent, below the prior year.
- Other revenue collections of $39.2 million were $11.3 million, or 22.4 percent, below the estimate and $3.2 million or 8.8 percent, above the prior year.
Monthly revenue tables are available on the OMES website: http://www.ok.gov/OSF/News/February_2015_Financial_Report_Data_Tables.html
