RECEIPTS FOR OCTOBER 2014
General Fund receipts rose 4.6 percent
Road Fund receipts fell 0.3 percent
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Monday, November 10, 2014) - State Budget Director Jane Driskell reported today that October’s General Fund receipts grew 4.6 percent compared to last year. Total revenues for the month were $755.7 million, compared to $722.5 million during October 2013. Receipts have increased 1.9 percent for the first four months of the fiscal year, and need to grow 4.4 percent over the final eight months of FY15 to achieve the official revenue estimate of $9,801.2 million.
Driskell noted that the General Fund had a solid month after a first quarter in which receipts grew only 1.1 percent. “October was clearly a strong month of revenue growth as nominal collections grew $33.2 million, an amount higher than the nominal growth in the entire first quarter of FY15. The main contributions to the healthy growth in October were the individual income tax and sales taxes, which grew 4.8 percent and 6.3 percent respectively while corporate and property receipts continue to underperform.”
Among the major accounts:
● Individual income tax collections rose 4.8 percent, primarily on the strength of withholding collections. Receipts are up 5.2 percent for the first four months of FY15.
● Sales and use tax receipts rose 6.3 percent in October and are up 4.1 percent for the year. Corporation income tax receipts decreased 0.3 percent in October. Year-to-date receipts have fallen 24.1 percent.
● Property tax collections increased 41.1 percent in October, but are down 5.5 percent year-to-date. Large swings in property tax revenues are typical in the fall months as the bulk of receipts in this category are received between November and January.
● Cigarette tax receipts grew 11.5 percent in October and are up 0.2 percent for the first four months of the fiscal year.
● Coal severance tax receipts decreased 5.8 percent for the month and are down 5.2 percent year-to-date.
● Lottery revenues fell 3.3 percent in October but are up 4.2 percent for the year.
Road Fund receipts for October totaled $126.7 million, a 0.3 percent decrease from October 2013 levels. Based on year-to-date collections, Road Fund receipts can decline 2.0 percent and still meet the official FY15 estimate of $1,546.7 million. Motor vehicle usage tax receipts fell 4.3 percent for the month and have declined 1.4 percent year-to-date. Motor fuels taxes increased 0.8 percent in October and have grown 1.4 percent for the year.
Director Driskell noted that the October Road Fund performance is not unexpected. “Road Fund collections continue to be weak, as we anticipated. Growth in motor fuels tax collections is limited by a decline in demand. Motor vehicle usage tax receipts have been hampered by the impact of recent legislation which provides for a new car trade-in. It is anticipated that the credit will reduce collections by $34 million in the current fiscal year.”
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