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CHARLESTON, WV – Gov. Jim
Justice reported Monday that February Revenue Collections resulted in a
$12.2 million surplus which was 11.3% above prior year receipts.
“This is incredible news if you just think where we were when I walked in
the door and what we would have given for this,” said Gov. Justice.
"Our state is doing extremely well, no question whatsoever, we're
knocking it out of the park," Gov. Justice continued. "But, at
the same time, we still have a lot of people to help."
Year-to-date the General Revenue Fund has collected almost $2.96 billion
which amounts to a $53 million surplus, 12.4% ahead of prior year
receipts.
The following is a summary of February revenue collections.
General Revenue
Fund
February General
Revenue Fund collections of $302.8 million were $12.2 million above
estimate and 11.3% above prior year receipts.
Year-to-date
collections of nearly $2.96 billion were more than $53 million above
estimate (as revised in January 2019) and 12.4% ahead of prior year
receipts. The sharp rise in collections was attributable
to very high rates of growth in Severance Tax, Corporation Net Income
Tax, Consumer Sales Tax and Personal Income Tax collections. Year-to-date
General Fund Severance Tax collections were 40% ($80.5 million) ahead of
last year. Year-to-date Corporation Net Income Tax collections were 69%
($41.3 million) ahead of last year. Year-to-date General Fund Consumer
Sales Tax collections were 11.7% ($94.3 million) ahead of last year.
Year-to-date Personal Income Tax collections were 8.4% ($99.6 million)
ahead of last year.
A summary of major components follows:
February Personal
Income Tax collections of $103.9 million were $11.3 million above
estimate and 20.4% above prior year receipts. Cumulative
collections were nearly $2.6 million above the revised estimate and 8.4%
ahead of prior year receipts. The increase in monthly net revenue from
the prior year was largely due to a $10.2 million decline in tax refund
payments during the month. The tax year 2018 refund season got off to a
slower-than-expected start due to the impact of the federal government
shutdown in January. The decrease in refunds should be offset by higher
refund payments in the coming month. Income withholding tax payments of
$130.1 million were a strong 7.9% above prior year receipts. Cumulative
withholding tax collections of more than $1.13 billion were 11.4%
above prior year receipts. Withholding tax collections previously grew by
9.1% during the final three months of FY2018.
February Consumer
Sales and Use Tax collections of more than $104.3 million were $3.0
million above estimate and 9.2% above prior year receipts. Cumulative
collections were $9.4 million above the revised estimate and 11.7% ahead
of prior year receipts. Overall collection growth, including transfers to
special revenue funds, was a robust 10% for the year-to-date.
February General
Revenue Fund Severance Tax collections of nearly $41.5 million were $3.0
million above estimate and 14.8% ahead of prior year receipts.
Year-to-date General Revenue Fund severance tax collections were $5.7
million above the revised estimate and 40.1% ahead of prior year
collections. Total cumulative severance tax collections for all funds
were up by 35.2%. Recent strong growth in
collections was partially attributable to growth in the value of foreign
exports of coal. In addition, natural gas prices are trending higher than
last year with greater price stability this year.
Insurance Premium
Tax collections totaled $14.1 million in February, an amount that was
nearly $0.8 million below estimate but still 16.3% ahead of prior year
receipts. Cumulative collections of $75.9 million
were $3.3 million above estimate and 6.7% ahead of last year.
Tobacco Products
collections totaled more than $11.5 million in February, an amount that
was $2.9 million below estimate and 15.2% below prior year receipts. Cumulative
collections were $5.9 million below estimate and 4.2% below prior year
receipts.
February Business and Occupation Tax collections of nearly $13.6 million
were roughly $0.9 million above estimate. Cumulative collections of $75.6
million were $1.8 million above estimate and 5.8% ahead of prior year
receipts.
State Road Fund
In February, total State Road Fund collections of $84.6 were $5.6 million
above estimate and 1.3% above prior year receipts. The surplus was due to
an $8.5 million surplus in federal reimbursements. All other collections
were collectively $3.2 million below the monthly estimate. Registration and
License Fee revenues exceeded estimate by more than $3.3 million and
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax collections fell short of estimate by nearly $3.4
million. Due to a higher than expected carryover to early March, Motor
Fuel Tax collections were also nearly $3.3 million below estimate during
the month. The federal reimbursement surplus helped offset some of the
deficit accrued in earlier months due to temporary interruptions
associated with conversion to a new information management system at the
Department of Transportation.
Cumulative State Road Fund collections of nearly $818.2 million were
$90.7 million below estimate and 1.5% below prior year receipts. Federal
reimbursements were $113.6 million below estimate due to a time lag
associated with a recently implemented upgrade in technology. Discounting
federal reimbursements, total collections of $580.7 million were $22.9
million above estimate and 0.4% ahead of prior year receipts. Cumulative
Motor Fuel Excise Tax collections were $1.2 million below estimate and
4.4% ahead of last year. Cumulative License and Registration Fees were
$16.1 million ahead of estimate and 14.9% ahead of last year. Cumulative
Motor Vehicle Sales Tax collections were $6.9 million above estimate and
7.2% ahead of prior year receipts.
For details on other revenues, go to www.budget.wv.gov/reportsandcharts/revenuereports
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