Home » State General Fund receipts down 3.6 percent in December

State General Fund receipts down 3.6 percent in December

Road Fund receipts rose 4.2 percent

FRANKFORT, Ky. (Jan.10, 2014) — December’s General Fund receipts fell 3.5 percent compared to December of last year, a decrease of $33.2 million, the Office of State Budget Director reported Friday.

Total revenues for the month were $912.6 million, compared to $945.8 million during December 2012. Receipts have increased 1.2 percent for the first six months of the fiscal year that ends June 30, 2014. The official revenue forecast for FY14 — revised by the CFG in mid-December — calls for 2.1 percent revenue growth. Revenues would need to grow 3.1 percent for the last six months of the fiscal year to meet the estimate.

Even though revenue growth declined in December, collections were not as weak as the top-line growth might suggest, said State Budget Director Jane C. Driskell.

“December 2012 collections contained approximately $25 million in amnesty money that created an artificial headwind to overcome this year,” she said. “Additionally, property tax collections are subject to timing and large month-to-month variations. Taken together, these events created a nearly $45 million hole which the remaining tax collections could not overcome. We will continue to monitor receipts and are optimistic we can meet the revenue estimates.”

Among the major accounts:

♦ Sales and use tax receipts increased 6.6 percent in December and have increased 3.0 percent for the year.

♦ Corporation income tax receipts fell 13.5 percent but are up 18.4 percent for the year.

♦ Individual income tax collections fell 1.8 percent in December. Year-to-date collections in this account have increased 2.4 percent.

♦ Property tax collections declined 13.5 percent and are down 8.8 percent for the year.

♦ Cigarette tax receipts declined 6.2 in December and for the first six months are down 3.6 percent.

♦ Coal severance tax receipts decreased 6.0 percent in December and have fallen 14.4 percent for the year.

Road Fund receipts increased 4.2 percent in December with collections of $121.1 million. Official Road Fund estimates call for an increase in revenues of 6.1 percent for the fiscal year. Based on year-to-date tax collections of 7.0 percent, revenues need to increase 5.2 percent for the remainder of FY14 to meet the estimate. Driskell noted that even though Road Fund collections are ahead of pace to meet the official estimate, “receipts will slow down in the second half of the year due to statutory reductions in the motor fuels tax rate”. The tax rate on motor fuels will decline 1.5 cents per gallon for the period January – March based on the results of the October 2013 survey of wholesale fuels prices.

Among the accounts, motor fuels receipts rose 11.7 percent in December, and are up 8.4 percent for the first six months. Motor vehicle usage revenue grew 10.8 percent in December, and has increased 7.6 percent over last year. License and privilege receipts fell 31.3 percent for the month, primarily due to an anomaly in the timing of the weight distance tax. Overall, the weight distance tax is performing very much in line with our expectations.