OKLAHOMA CITY - Cementing the trend, Oklahoma’s gross receipts to the Treasury in October were up less than 1% compared to the previous year, a further indication of a coming slowdown to the economy.
As expected, a continued fall in oil and gas production tax collections are spurring the deceleration, but sales tax collections were down in October as well, according to State Treasurer Randy McDaniel.
Total collections for October 2019 were $1.14 billion, but just 0.5% over last year, with gross production tax revenues down almost 30% year over year.
Sales tax revenue dipped around 1%.
While overall gross receipts indicate continued growth, the deceleration of growth points to a coming slowdown.
Individual and corporate income tax, use tax, and motor vehicle taxes all saw modest gains in October, with growth of $1.04 billion or 8.2% over the last 12 months compared to the previous 12-month period.
Medical marijuana revenue continues to increase, with $41.3 million in gross revenue to the state over the last 12 months.
The medical marijuana tax of 7% has generated $18.1 million plus an additional $23.1 million from sales tax. Overall purchases of medical marijuana in Oklahoma over the past year equate to $259.1 million.
The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index for October fell below growth neutral for the second time in the past three months.
October’s rate of 48.7 is down from 50.1 in September, indicating slow to no economic growth in the next three to six months. The index applies a score from 1 to 100, with 50 being considered “growth neutral.”
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate for Oklahoma was unchanged at 3.2% in September for a fifth consecutive month.
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.5% in September, down from 3.7 % the prior month, according to figures released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission.