OKLAHOMA CITY — Deposits to the state’s general revenue fund fell 13 percent below expectations in December, and 15 percent below the same month a year ago, according to figures from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services.
Preston Doerflinger, the state’s chief financial officer, attributed to the large shortfall to continued declines in energy prices coupled with weak holiday retail sales.
“Bad Black Friday weather sent a lot of shoppers online instead of to brick-and-mortar stores where sales taxes are paid,” Doerflinger said.
By law, shoppers are supposed to remit sales tax for online purchases when filing their state income tax return, but the state has no enforcement ability.
Many states and businesses have lobbied Congress unsuccessfully to pass the Marketplace Fairness Act, legislation that would require online vendors to collect state and local sales taxes.
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“States like Oklahoma will struggle to collect sales tax from most online sales until Congress passes the Marketplace Fairness Act,” Doerflinger said.
Oklahoma declared a revenue failure for the current budget year and projects $900 million less in general revenue for the budget year will begin July 1.
“The outlook ahead remains challenging,” Doerflinger said.
Total revenue for December was $462.6 million, or $70.1 million below projections.
Collections for the first six months of fiscal year 2016 are 6.2 percent, or $172.1 million, short of expectations and 6.8 percent below the same period a year ago.
All major tax categories were well below estimates for December and for the same month a year ago.
For the second time in three months, more was paid out in corporate income tax refunds than was collected from that source.
