Arkansas general revenues holding strong

Year-to-date gross collections total $3.574 billion, an increase of $95.4 million, or 2.7% above last year, according to Tuesday (Mar. 3) report from the Arkansas Department of Finance & Administration.

Arkansas’ fiscal year begins July 1.

Gross general revenues are $82.6 million or 2.4% above the revised general revenue forecast.

Year-to-date net available general revenues total $2.915 billion, 2.4% above last year and 2.9% above the general revenue forecast released Nov. 13. The amount above forecast is due to gains in both corporate income tax and individual income tax, according to DF&A.

John Shelnutt, the director of economic analysis and tax research for the ADFA, said February’s individual income tax collections include a large number of one-time payments from severance checks related to massive layoffs across the state.

Those numbers will show up in this fiscal year, but won’t be there in the future, he told Roby Brock in this interview.

Other year-to-date key collections from the DF&A report are:
• Individual income tax collections: $1.687 billion, or 2.3% above the same period in fiscal year 2008 collections, and 3% above forecast.

• Gross receipts (primarily of salesand use taxes): $1.437 billion, 1.4% above the same period in fiscal year 2008, or 0.3% below forecast. 
 
• Corporate income taxes: $220.5 million, up 8.5% above the same period in fiscal year
2008, and up 19.3% above forecast for the year-to-date period.