Oklahoma’s coming out of pandemic economic downturn

  • June 8, 2021

Gross Receipts Taxes

Oklahoma is apparently starting to quickly come out of the downturn from the coronavirus pandemic according to State Treasurer Randy McDaniel who announced the May gross receipts on Tuesday.

He said every major revenue stream “shows strong growth” including oil and gas where the gross production tax generated $87.3 million, a jump of nearly 128% from a year ago. Collections for the month reflect oil field production during March when oil was more than $62 per barrel after falling below $20 per barrel during the prior year.

While oil and gas revenues jumped in May, collections in the past 12 months were down by 23%. Gross production tax collections totaled $694.2 million, down by $207.5 million.

Oklahoma’s total tax collections in May generated $1.24 billion, a jump of more than 34 percent from the same month of last year. Combined receipts from the past 12 months are at an all-time high but are partially inflated by last July’s delayed income tax filing deadline.

Energy Sector Pullback Pushes Gross Receipts Lower for Oklahoma Treasury – Oklahoma Energy Today

“What a difference a year can make,” Treasurer McDaniel said. “At this time last year, unemployment was high, numerous businesses had significantly reduced operations, and many people were quarantined in their homes. Today, pent-up demand has been unleashed and the economy is performing quite well.”

The strongest indicator of ramped up economic activity can be found in consumption tax receipts. Combined sales and use tax collections for the month are up by 26 percent. Motor vehicle receipts are 16.6 percent higher than May of 2020.

Combined gross receipts from the past 12 months of $13.88 billion are above collections from the previous 12 months by $808 million, or 6.2 percent. Every major revenue stream except gross production shows growth during the 12 months, but those collections are quickly recovering.

Other indicators

The Oklahoma Business Conditions Index in May remained above growth neutral for a sixth consecutive month. The May index was set at 68.9, down from a record high of 70.9 in April. Numbers above 50 indicate economic expansion is expected during the next three to six months.

The April unemployment rate in Oklahoma was reported as 4.3 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state’s jobless rate was unchanged from March, but down significantly from 13 percent in April 2020. The U.S. unemployment rate was set at 6.1 percent in April.

May collections

Compared to gross receipts from May 2020, collections in May 2021 show:

  • Total May 2021 gross collections are $1.24 billion, up $314.7 million, or 34.1 percent.
  • Gross income tax collections, a combination of individual and corporate income taxes, generated $404.1 million, up by $114.8 million, or 39.7 percent.
    • Individual income tax collections are $355.8 million, an increase of $76.6 million, or 27.4 percent.
    • Corporate collections are $48.3 million, up by $38.2 million, or 380.4 percent. Large monthly variances in corporate collections are not uncommon.
  • Combined sales and use tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $534.2 million – up by $110.1 million, or 26 percent.
    • Sales tax collections total $458.6 million, an increase of $96.3 million, or 26.6 percent.
    • Use tax receipts, collected on out-of-state purchases including internet sales, generated $75.6 million, an increase of $13.9 million, or 22.4 percent.
  • Motor vehicle taxes produced $71.3 million, up by $10.2 million, or 16.6 percent.
  • Other collections composed of some 60 different sources including taxes on fuel, tobacco, medical marijuana, and alcoholic beverages, produced $141 million – up by $30.6 million, or 27.7 percent.
    • The medical marijuana tax produced $6 million, up by $817,643, or 15.8 percent from May 2020.

Twelve-month collections

Combined gross receipts for past 12 months compared to the trailing 12 months show:

  • Gross revenue totals $13.88 billion. That is $808 million, or 6.2 percent, above collections from the previous period.
  • Gross income taxes generated $5.02 billion, an increase of $655.6 million, or 15 percent.
    • Individual income tax collections total $4.25 billion, up by $382.6 million, or 9.9 percent.
    • Corporate collections are $774.8 million, an increase of $273 million, or 54.4 percent.
  • Combined sales and use taxes generated $5.77 billion, an increase of $293.5 million, or 5.4 percent.
    • Gross sales tax receipts total $4.91 billion, up by $175.1 million, or 3.7 percent.
    • Use tax collections generated $854 million, an increase of $118.4 million, or 16.1 percent.
  • Motor vehicle collections total $812 million, an increase of $35.9 million, or 4.6 percent.
  • Other sources generated $1.58 billion, up by $30.4 million, or 2 percent.
    • Medical marijuana taxes generated $65.6 million, up by $26.6 million, or 68 percent.

Source: press release

Jerry Bohnen