State's Economy Continues 'Steady Recovery'





Treasurer Ken Miller

From The Treasurer's Office ~ Oklahoma’s economy appears to be continuing its slow and steady recovery from the recession, State Treasurer Ken Miller said today as he issued revenue reports for December and the first half of the state’s fiscal year.

Preliminary reports show General Revenue Fund collections in December are $454.5 million. That amount is: · $52.1 million or 13 percent above the prior year; and, · $18.9 million or 4.3 percent above the estimate.

Happy Holidays Shown
Miller said the reports indicate Oklahoma had a much-improved Christmas season and is trending in a positive direction, but is still in the early stages of recovery.

“Sales tax collections show a seven-percent increase in spending from last December,” he said. “While those collections are $3.7 million less than two years ago, they are up by $9.4 million from last Christmas.”

Sales tax collections are widely viewed as an indicator of consumer confidence where an increase typically signals growing optimism. The December report reflects retail spending between mid-November and mid-December.

However, Miller said income tax collections seem to show the lagging effects of the deep economic downturn.

“We are seeing moderate growth in income tax collections, including in withholding taxes,” he said. “As seen in the continuing elevated state unemployment rate, income tax collections show Oklahoma businesses are beginning to gain confidence but are still shaking off the impact of the recession.”

Miller said year-to-date revenue reports show the recovery is occurring across virtually all sectors of Oklahoma’s economy although natural gas prices remain depressed.

December Collections
In December, net income taxes, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, produced $203.8 million. That figure is $31.7 million or 18.4 percent above the prior year and $6.9 million or 3.5 percent above the estimate.

Personal income tax collections for the month are $172.9 million. That is $18.7 million or 12.1 percent above the prior year but $5.1 million or 2.9 percent below the estimate.

Corporate income tax collections in December are $31 million. That is $12.9 million or 71.8 percent above the prior year and $12 million or 63.3 percent above the estimate.

The state sales tax produced $145.2 million for the month, which is $9.4 million or 7 percent above the prior year and $4.3 million or 3.1 percent above the estimate.

The gross production tax on oil and natural gas yielded $34.5 million for the month, which is $4.3 million or 14.2 percent above the prior year and $1.8 million or 5.5 percent above the estimate.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $13.6 million in December, which is $2.6 million or 23.7 percent above the prior year and $4.2 million or 45.1 percent above the estimate.

Other revenue, including investment earnings and taxes on insurance, alcoholic beverages and others produced $57.3 million for the month. This is $4.1 million or 7.7 percent above the prior year and $1.6 million or 2.9 percent above the estimate.

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