Delayed tax filing deadline boosts gross receipts

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  • Oklahoma State Treasurer
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OKLAHOMA CITY – Gross receipts to the state Treasury jumped by more than 25% in July, primarily because of the delayed income tax filing deadline, State Treasurer Randy McDaniel announced Wednesday.

July receipts from all sources totaled $1.43 billion and exceeded collections from July 2019 by 27.2%. It marks only the second time in six months that total receipts have topped those of the prior year.

“While July collections were strong, a different picture emerges when taking into account the delay of income tax filing,” the Treasurer said. “The details show the positive bottom line is concealing some less than favorable developments.”

With the income tax filing deadline moved to July 15, gross income tax collections were up by $360.5 million, or 106.3%, from the prior July. However, the increase failed to entirely offset the $414.4 million reduction in income tax collections from April.

Gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income taxes, generated $699.5 million. Individual income tax collections for the month were $551.1 million, up 71.9% from the prior July, and corporate collections were $148.4 million, an increase of 706.7%. July collections from the gross production tax on oil and gas extraction totaled $22.9 million, down by 71.6% compared to the same month of last year. The latest employment data show the state has shed 16,100 oil field jobs in the past year as prices and demand have fallen. Combined sales and use tax collections, including remit- tances on behalf of cities and  counties, totaled $487.5 million in July. Sales tax receipts totaled $421.5 million, a 1% increase from the same month a year ago. Use tax receipts, collected on out-of-state purchases including online sales, generated $65.9 million, an increase of 13.6% from the previous year.

Motor vehicle collections contracted slightly in July, producing $75.3 million, down by just under 1% from the same month of 2019.

Other collections composed of some 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, medical marijuana, and alcoholic beverages, produced $145.8 million during the month. That was 5.2% less than last July.

Since the start of the national recession, cumulative gross receipts to the Treasury are down by $411.8 million, or 5.9%, compared to the same six months of 2019. Twelve-month collections, an indicator of economic performance over a one-year period, are down by 2.8% with all major revenue streams except corporate income tax and use tax showing a pullback.

ECONOMIC INDICATORS

The unemployment rate in Oklahoma was reported as 6.6% in June, compared to 12.6% in May and 14.7% in April. The seasonally adjusted number of Oklahomans counted as jobless was listed at 116,602, according to figures released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.

The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index in July remained above growth neutral for a second month, following three months of numbers indicating economic contraction. The July index was set at 69, up from 53.1 in June. Numbers above 50 indicate economic expansion is expected during the next three to six months.