Arkansas tax revenue on a positive track

Arkansas tax collections for the first three months of the fiscal year are on a positive track, with the closely watched sales and use tax revenue up more than 6%.

The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration reported Wednesday (Oct. 2) that year-to-date (July 2013-Sept. 2013) total revenue was $1.5 billion, up 4.3% compared to the same period in 2012 and up 2.2% over the forecast.

Sales and use tax collections – considered a measure of consumer confidence and spending – totaled $567.3 million in the first three months, up 6.3% compared to the same period last year and 1.7% above forecast.

“Gains in the two economic-related revenue lines of Sales tax and Payroll Withholding were in-line with projections and encouraging for the state economy in the absence of any unusual collection factors,” John Shelnutt, head of the Department of Finance and Administration’s Economic Analysis & Tax Research division, said in the report.

Year-to-date individual income tax revenue was $691.5 million, up 2.1% and 0.4% above forecast. Corporate income tax revenue totaled $108.1 million in the period, up 12.9% and up 11.2% above the forecast.

The year-to-date totals were bolstered by healthy September collections. Gross revenue in September was $590.1 million, up 6.5% above September 2012. Individual income tax revenue during September was $295.7 million, up 7.3% compared to September 2012. Sales and use tax collections were up 5% in September and totaled $186.8 million.

OTHER TAX COLLECTIONS
Alcoholic beverage
July 2013 – Sept. 2013: $13.3 million
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $12.8 million

Games of skill
July 2013 – Sept. 2013: $9.6 million
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $8.2 million

Tobacco
July 2013 – Sept. 2013: $56.9 million
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $59.1 million

Insurance
July 2013 – Sept. 2013: $21.5 million
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $20.3 million

COLLECTIONS HISTORY
Tax collections during fiscal year 2013 (July 2012-June 2013) totaled $6.214 billion, up 4.9% above the previous fiscal year and up 2.5% compared to budget estimates. One result of the gains was a budget surplus of $299.5 million.

Fiscal year 2013 marked the third consecutive year of year-over-year gains. Arkansas tax collections reversed a negative two-year slide in the 2011 fiscal year, with collections up 4.5% in the July 2010-June 2011 period.

State tax collections for fiscal year 2011 totaled $5.673 billion, up 4.5% above the $5.43 billion in the 2010 period.

The biggest declines in the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years were with individual income tax collections and sales and use tax collections.