Arkansas tax revenue jumps 6.1% in September

Thanks primarily to gains in individual income tax collections, year-to-date (July 2012-Sept. 2012) Arkansas tax revenue is up 3.9% above the same period in 2011, and 2.7% ahead of the forecast.

Figures released Tuesday (Oct. 2) by the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration show that the gross tax collection for the first three months of the state’s fiscal year is $1.438 billion, up $54.2 million over the 2011 period. Of that, $53 million is from July-September individual income tax collections that total $677.4 million, or 8.5% ahead of the 2011 period.

September tax collections totaled $553.9 million, up 6.1% over September 2011, and 5.2% above forecast. Individual income tax collections for September totaled $275.5 million, up 15.4% compared to September 2011.

“Individual withholding increased 18.1 percent compared to last year as a result of the payroll timing effect. Both withholding and estimated payments contributed to gains during the month,” John Shelnutt, head of the Department of Finance and Administration’s Economic Analysis & Tax Research division, said in the report.

However, sales and use tax collections were down 1.2% in September compared to September 2011. The collections, which are a good measure of consumer spending, were 3.9% below forecast.

THE NUMBERS
Year-to-date (July 2012-Sept. 2012) gross receipts collections — primarily sales and use taxes — totaled $533.7 million, down 0.9% from last year, and 4.3% below forecast. The gross receipts tally is an indicator of consumer spending.

Year-to-date corporate income taxes totaled $95.7 million, down 6.3% from the 2011 year-to-date last year, and above forecast by 0.6%.

The September corporate income tax collection was $66.1 million, down 7.8% below September 2011 and 1.6% below the forecast.

OTHER TAX COLLECTIONS
Alcoholic beverage
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $12.8 million
July 2011 – Sept. 2011: $12.4 million

Games of skill
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $8.2 million
July 2011 – Sept. 2011: $5.8 million

Tobacco
July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $59.1 million
July 2011 – Sept. 2011: $63.3 million

Insurance

July 2012 – Sept. 2012: $20.3 million

July 2011 – Sept. 2011: $20.9 million

COLLECTIONS HISTORY
Fiscal year 2012 marked the second 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. Total state revenue of $5.43 billion in fiscal year 2010 was 2.4% below the previous fiscal year and marked the second consecutive year of revenue decline.

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