The news this week from Oklahoma State Treasurer Ken Miller did not give much indication the state’s economy was improving. If anything, it’s just bumping along with only a slight improvement in gross production tax collections on oil and gas. Otherwise, the state remains in the recession it entered a year ago.
“Receipts from all major revenue streams, income, sales, gross production, and motor vehicle taxes, are smaller when compared to the same month of the prior year and the previous fiscal year,” said Miller in announcing the June figures. “The monthly bottom line has been less than the same month of the prior year for 14 consecutive months. The 12-month total has contracted for 14 consecutive months as well.”
Recessions are typically defined as two consecutive quarters of GDP reduction.
“The latest GDP data show Oklahoma entered a recession starting in spring of last year. We will get new data late this month to show whether the recession continued into first quarter of this year, however, there is no indication of any marked recovery at this point,” added Miller.
Collections from gross production taxes on oil and natural gas are still below prior year numbers but rose slightly for two months in a row after hitting a 17-year low in April. The taxes generated $25.5 million in June, a drop of $10.5 million or 29.1 percent from June 2015. Compared to May reports, gross production collections are up by $1.4 million or 5.7 percent.
The state’s overall June gross receipts were $925.7 million, down by nearly $74 million or 7.4 percent from June 2015, making it the lowest June total in six years.
Fiscal year 2016 collections are $11.1 billion, down by more than $860 million or 7.2 percent from FY-15. It marks the lowest 12-month total in 39 months, since March 2013, and is down by more than $980 million or more than 8 percent from the last peak of $12.1 billion in February 2015.
Listen to Miller’s comments about the impact of gross production tax revenue.
