The energy downturn in Oklahoma is being blamed again as the latest gross receipts at the State Treasury were down for an 18th consecutive month in August, according to State Treasurer Ken Miller.
Some quoted him as calling it a recession in Oklahoma. Miller said one thing is clear—the state’s jobless numbers were greater than the national rate for the first time in nearly 26 years.
“We keep scouring through the data to find signs of an impending turnaround, but it’s just not there,” said Miller in announcing the latest receipts. “Some aspects of the August report aren’t as negative as in prior months—a few revenue streams have ticked up slightly, but we can’t yet point to a positive trend.”
Gross receipts were down 4 percent in August compared to August of 2015. total collections over the past year were off by more than 7 percent compared to the prior period.
Collections from gross production taxes on oil and natural gas increased from the prior month for the fourth consecutive time, reflecting a slight rebound in wellhead prices. But compared to the previous year, receipts remain suppressed. The gross production taxes generated $31.8 million during the month, a drop of $9 million or 5.8 percent from last August. Compared to July reports, the gross production collections were up by $1.3 million, or 4.2 percent.
Over the past year, the oil and gas gross production tax collections brought in $347 million which was down by $280.2 million or 44.7 percent.
