Arkansas tax revenue up almost 10% in January, up 3.8% year to date

Arkansas tax collections for the first seven months of the fiscal year are up 3.8%, with sales and use tax collections – a measure of consumer spending and confidence – up 1.9% year-to-date.

Gross revenue between July 2014 and January was $3.614 billion, up $131.8 million compared to the same period in the previous fiscal year, and 2.2% above what was forecasted.

Individual income tax collections for the first seven months of the fiscal year totaled $1.76 billion, up 4.7% from last year and 2.3% above the budget forecast, according to the report issued Tuesday (Feb. 3) by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration.

Year-to-date sales and use tax collections were $1.303 billion, up 1.9% compared to last year and 0.7% below the budget forecast. Income taxes and the sales and use tax collections are the two primary sources of state revenue.

“January results were above forecast in all major revenue collection categories. The results represented broad-based gains, spanning business and household categories of taxable activity,” noted John Shelnutt, head of the Department of Finance and Administration’s Economic (DFA) Analysis & Tax Research division.

Corporate income tax collections for the first seven reporting months of the fiscal year totaled $257.9 million, up 10% compared to last year and 11.8% above forecast.

JANUARY NUMBERS
January gross revenue was $615.8 million, up 9.9% from last year and 9.7% above forecast.

Individual income tax collections during January totaled $356.2 million, up 11.3% compared to January 2013 and above forecast by 11.2%.

January sales and use tax revenue was $193.2 million, up 8.2% compared to January 2013. The collections were 6% above budget forecast. Sales tax collections are a reflection of consumer spending and consumer confidence.

Corporate income tax collections in January totaled $33.5 million, up $2.6 million compared to January 2014, and above forecast by 27.8%.

OTHER TAX COLLECTIONS
Alcoholic beverage
July 2014 – Jan. 2014: $30.9 million
July 2013 – Jan. 2013: $30.2 million

Games of skill
July 2014 – Jan. 2014: $24.4 million
July 2013 – Jan. 2013: $21.7 million

Tobacco
July 2014 – Jan. 2014: $129.9 million
July 2013 – Jan. 2013: $130.8 million

Insurance
July 2014 – Jan. 2014: $45.6 million
July 2013 – Jan. 2013: $45.3 million

COLLECTIONS HISTORY
Tax collections during fiscal year 2014 (July 2013-June 2014) totaled $6.242 billion, up 0.5% above the previous fiscal year and up just 0.2% compared to budget estimates. The year marked the fourth consecutive year of revenue increases. The fiscal year ended with a budget surplus of $78.7 million.

Tax collections during fiscal year 2013 (January 2012-January 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.

Arkansas tax collections reversed a negative two-year slide in the 2011 fiscal year, with collections up 4.5% in the January 2010-January 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.