For Immediate Release

OKLAHOMA CITY — General Revenue Fund collections in March were $494.6 million and came in at $18.3 million, or 3.6%, below the monthly estimate. This amount is $14.3 million, or 2.8%, below collections in March of 2019. Total GRF collections over the first nine months of fiscal year 2020 were $70.6 million, or 1.5%, below the estimate, and $11.4 million, or 0.2%, below prior year collections for the same period.

“Although we have yet to see the full impact of $20 per barrel oil, it is clear from dropping sales and use tax collections that our economy is beginning to feel the pain," said OMES Director Steve Harpe. "This compounded with COVID-19 “stay at home” requirements and extended IRS tax filing deadlines, we expect to see the greatest impact to collections over these last remaining months of fiscal year 2020 and into the upcoming fiscal year.

"Income tax collections have helped prop up GRF totals to this point but are projected to take heavy losses beginning in April. The last three months of the fiscal year account for one-third of the general revenue collections. Heavy losses in these months will have a significant impact on revenue," Harpe elaborated. 

Major tax categories in March contributed the following amounts to the GRF:

• Total income tax collections of $186.6 million were $24.2 million, or 14.9%, above the estimate and $45.4 million, or 32.1%, above the prior year.
  Individual income tax collections of $174.0 million were $25.0 million, or 16.8%, above the estimate and $46.5 million, or 36.5%, above the prior year.
  Corporate income tax collections of $12.6 million were $0.9 million, or 6.5%, below the estimate and $1.1 million, or 8.2%, below the prior year.
• Sales tax collections of $165.1 million were $19.4 million, or 10.5%, below the estimate and $8.6 million, or 5.0%, below the prior year.
• Gross production tax collections of $59.8 million were $24.1 million, or 28.7%, below the estimate and $14.3 million, or 19.3%, below the prior year.
  Natural gas collections of $18.0 million were $19.8 million, or 52.3%, below the estimate and $15.8 million, or 46.8%, below the prior year.
  Oil collections of $41.8 million were $4.3 million, or 9.3%, below the estimate and $1.5 million, or 3.8%, above the prior year.
• Motor vehicle tax collections of $2.8 million were $0.6 million, or 28.0%, above the estimate and $15.1 million, or 84.6%, below the prior year.
• Other revenue collections of $80.3 million were $0.4 million, or 0.5%, above the estimate and $21.6 million, or 21.2%, below the prior year.

As state government’s main operating fund, the GRF is the key indicator of state government’s fiscal status and the predominant funding source for the annual appropriated state budget. GRF collections are revenues that remain for the appropriated state budget after rebates, refunds, other mandatory apportionments and after sales and use taxes are remitted back to municipalities. In contrast, gross collections, reported by the State Treasurer, are all revenues remitted to the Oklahoma Tax Commission.

Revenue tables can be viewed on the OMES website: https://omes.ok.gov/pages/march-2019-financial-data-tables.

Note on Individual Income Tax and Motor Vehicle Collections: Every month of fiscal year 2020, contributions to the GRF from individual income tax collections and motor vehicle collections will be impacted by changes made by HB1014XX allocating specific motor vehicle and motor fuels tax collections to the ROADS fund and offsetting the distribution from this GR source by an equal amount. This new process will not directly impact revenues, but will cause anomalies in the prior year comparisons presenting as an increase in individual income tax and a decrease in motor vehicle contributions. Additionally, for the first year of these changes, we will experience a disrupted collection pattern in both sources when compared to estimated revenues.

Media Contact

Shelley Zumwalt
405-990-6611 | [email protected]

About the Office of Management and Enterprise Services

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services provides financial, property, purchasing, human resources and information technology services to all state agencies, and assists the Governor’s Office on budgetary policy matters. Our mission:  Provide excellent service, expert guidance and continuous improvement in support of our partners’ goals. For more information, visit OMES.OK.gov.