DATABANK
OKLAHOMA CITY – Gross Receipts to the State of Oklahoma Treasury ended 2020 down $520.9 million, or 3.8% compared to calendar year 2019. Despite December 2020’s receipts being down compared to the previous year, collections appear headed in the right direction. That month saw only a $4.8 million deficit, exceeding expectations considering the economic downturn created largely by the pandemic and the oil crisis.
With the exception of July, monthly gross receipts to the treasury were down each month since April. In reality, the apparent increase in July was created by the delay in income tax collections from April, with the percent increase smaller than the loss experienced in April when “tax day” was postponed.
“The state’s economy declined in 2020, but was bolstered by the resourcefulness of Oklahomans,” Treasurer Randy McDaniel said. “The state has exceeded expectations during a year most of us would like to forget. Hopefully, we will see improvement in the months ahead as the vaccine becomes widely available.”
Of the shortfall, the gross production tax on oil and gas represented the lion’s share, down $400 million or 40% year-over-year. The remaining major revenue streams, including income, sales and use, and motor vehicle taxes, remained mostly flat. Individual income tax was down less than 2% for the year, while sales tax revenues shrank by almost 4%. Motor vehicle taxes also were down for the year by more than 2%. Corporate income tax and tax on out-of-state purchases were up by almost 15% and 10%, respectively.
Gross revenue totals for calendar year 2020 stood at $13.19 billion, realizing increases of 132.8% in medical marijuana tax collections, 14.6% in corporate collections, 10.5% in use tax collections, and 0.3% in income taxes generated.
Economic expansion is expected over the next three to six months, as the Oklahoma Business Conditions Index rose above growth neutral, spurred by a continued reduction in the unemployment rate. Oklahoma’s unemployment continues to be lower than the national level, at 5.9% in November compared to 6.7% nationally. The seasonally adjusted number of Oklahomans listed as jobless was reported as 109,364.