By Constitution Staff

State Treasurer Ken Miller announced on January 5 that Gross Receipts to the state Treasury surged by 12 percent in December and grew at a healthy rate of 6.2 percent during the 2017 calendar year. At $1 billion, December collections are up by $107.9 million compared to receipts from December 2016. During the last year, gross receipts topped the $11 billion mark, finishing at $11.45 billion, an increase of $667.6 million over 2016 collections.

“What a difference a year can make,” Miller said. “At this time last year, calendar year gross receipts were down by more than 7 percent with every major revenue stream showing contraction. This year, we show across-the-board growth with an encouraging trend line.”

Since March 2011, the Office of the State Treasurer has issued the monthly Gross Receipts to the Treasury report, which provides a timely and broad view of the state’s macro economy. It is provided in conjunction with the General Revenue Fund allocation report from the Office of Management and Enterprise Services, which provides important information to state agencies for budgetary planning purposes.

The General Revenue Fund receives less than half of the state’s gross receipts with the remainder paid in rebates and refunds, remitted to cities and counties, and placed into off-the-top earmarks to other state funds.

Monthly receipts during the calendar year were higher than the same month of the prior year in all but one month. The rate of increase has generally trended higher with each passing month. In December, growth rates in the major revenue streams ranged from 42.7 percent in gross production taxes to 5.1 percent in motor vehicle tax collections. For the calendar year, growth ranged from 53.4 percent in gross production taxes to 2.6 percent in combined individual and corporate income tax receipts.

The tax commission attributes $24.2 million in December to new revenue resulting from legislation enacted during the last regular legislative session. The additional revenue comes primarily from changes in sales tax exemptions and gross production incentive tax rates. The new revenue accounts for 22.4 percent of the growth in December collections compared to the prior year. Since August, law changes from the last session have yielded $114.8 million in new gross revenue.

At 4.2 percent, Oklahoma’s seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate in November was down by two-tenths of a percentage point from the prior month, according to figures released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. State jobless numbers improved by seven-tenths of a percentage point over the year. The U.S. jobless rate was set at 4.1 percent in November, less than Oklahoma’s rate for a fifth consecutive month.

The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index has topped growth neutral for five consecutive months. The December index was set at 59.3, down from 60.8 in November. Numbers above 50 indicate anticipated economic growth during the next three to six months.

Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $351.2 million, an increase of $32.2 million, or 10.1 percent, from the previous December. Individual income tax collections for the month are $296.5 million, up by $27.8 million, or 10.4 percent, from the prior year. Corporate collections are $54.7 million, an increase of $4.4 million, or 8.7 percent.

Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $403.5 million in December. That is $40.1 million, or 11 percent, more than December 2016. Gross production taxes on oil and natural gas generated $56.2 million in December, an increase of $16.8 million, or 42.7 percent, from last December. Compared to November reports, gross production collections are up by $3.4 million, or 6.5 percent. Motor vehicle taxes produced $59.9 million, up by $2.9 million, or 5.1 percent, from the same month of 2016.

Other collections, consisting of about 60 different sources including use taxes, along with taxes on fuel, tobacco, and alcoholic beverages, produced $138.9 million during the month. That is $15.9 million, or 12.9 percent, more than last December.

Gross revenue totaled $11.45 billion from the past 12 months. That is $667.6 million, or 6.2 percent, more than collections from the previous 12 months.

Gross income taxes generated $4 billion for the 2017 calendar year, reflecting an increase of $100.5 million, or 2.6 percent, from the 2016 calendar year. Individual income tax collections total $3.6 billion, up by $141.6 million, or 4.1 percent, from the prior 12 months. Corporate collections are $405.3 million for the period, a decrease of $41.1 million, or 9.2 percent, over the previous period.

Sales taxes for the year generated $4.4 billion, an increase of $236.9 million, or 5.6 percent, from the prior year. Oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $537.2 million during the year, up by $187 million, or 53.4 percent, from the previous year. Motor vehicle collections total $764.9 million for the period. This is an increase of $23 million, or 3.1 percent, from the trailing period. Other sources generated $1.7 billion, up by $120.2 million, or 7.7 percent, from the previous year.

The growth in state revenue is expected to have a favorable impact as the Legislature begins the budgeting process for the next fiscal year which begins on July 1.