State general revenue beats expectations but not prior year

General revenue, the state’s major operating fund, totaled $524.7 million for the month, which was 3.7% above the projections on which the state’s budget is based.

However, it was also 5.1% less than a year ago.

General revenue for the first four months of the fiscal year is 4.6% above expectations.

“While year-to-date collections to the General Revenue Fund remain above initial estimates, it is vital that we continue to remain cautious in our outlook for the remainder of the fiscal year,” said OMES Executive Director Steven Harpe.

“October was the first month this year to see fewer personal income tax collections brought in than the previous year,” he said. “This is a strong indication of potentially decreasing personal income tax collections while Oklahoma recovers from high unemployment numbers earlier this year.”

Income and sales tax receipts, the state’s two major revenue sources, both beat expectations, but income tax revenue fell well short of prior year numbers. That’s important because lawmakers were able to shore up the current fiscal year’s budget with savings from prior years and federal funds that won’t be as readily available next year.

Income tax revenue for the month totaled $250.9 million, which was 27.7% above the estimate but 11.3% below the prior year. Income tax receipts for the first few months of this fiscal year, which began July 1, were skewed by the postponement from April 15 to July 15 of the due date for state income taxes.

The state’s share of sales tax revenue was $176.6 million, which was 0.6% above the estimate and 12.2% above the prior year.

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