General Revenue Fund collections in May were $490.1 million and came in at $65.5 million, or 11.8%, below the monthly estimate. This amount is $83.8 million, or 14.6%, below collections in May of 2019. Total GRF collections over the first 11 months of fiscal year 2020 were $552.3 million, or 8.8%, below the estimate, and $472.2 million, or 7.6%, below prior year collections for the same period.
“May’s revenue collections shortfall was expected, as continual losses suffered by the oil and gas industry negatively impact the state,” said OMES Director Steve Harpe. “Overall income tax collections have exceeded projections and surpassed last year’s total.
“Moving forward into the next fiscal year, we will closely watch the situation and be prepared to take the necessary steps to keep state agencies functioning, fulfilling their missions to the citizens of Oklahoma.”
Major tax categories in May contributed the following amounts to the GRF:
- Total income tax collections of $191.6 million were $25.2 million, or 15.2%, above the estimate and $37.0 million, or 23.9%, above the prior year.
Individual income tax collections of $189.3 million were $27.4 million, or 16.9%, above the estimate and $48.3 million, or 34.3%, above the prior year.
Corporate income tax collections of $2.3 million were $2.2 million, or 49.0%, below the estimate and $11.4 million, or 83.3%, below the prior year. - Sales tax collections of $164.1 million were $29.1 million, or 15.0%, below the estimate and $25.3 million, or 13.3%, below the prior year.
- Gross production tax collections of $28.2 million were $55.7 million, or 66.4%, below the estimate and $44.0 million, or 61.0%, below the prior year.
Natural gas collections of $7.2 million were $23.2 million, or 76.4%, below the estimate and $20.0 million, or 73.6%, below the prior year.
Oil collections of $21.0 million were $32.5 million, or 60.7%, below the estimate and $24.0 million, or 53.3%, below the prior year. - Motor vehicle tax collections of $7.3 million were $4.8 million, or 194.4%, above the estimate and $15.9 million, or 68.4%, below the prior year.
- Other revenue collections of $99.0 million were $10.8 million, or 9.9%, below the estimate and $35.7 million, or 26.5%, below the prior year.
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, other mandatory apportionments and after sales and use taxes are remitted back to municipalities. In contrast, gross collections, reported by the State Treasurer, are all revenues remitted to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.
Revenue tables can be viewed on the OMES website: : https://omes.ok.gov/pages/may-2020-financial-data-tables
Note on Individual Income Tax and Motor Vehicle Collections: Every month of fiscal year 2020, contributions to the GRF from individual income tax collections and motor vehicle collections will be impacted by changes made by HB1014XX allocating specific motor vehicle and motor fuels tax collections to the ROADS fund and offsetting the distribution from this GR source by an equal amount. This new process will not directly impact revenues, but will cause anomalies in the prior year comparisons presenting as an increase in individual income tax and a decrease in motor vehicle contributions. Additionally, for the first year of these changes, we will experience a disrupted collection pattern in both sources when compared to estimated revenues.
Editor’s Note: This story was provided by the Office of Management and Enterprise Services with minor edits for style.
