The state Tax Dept. collected $27 million less in February than it thought it would. It’s likely the state will end of the fiscal year, June 30, below its revenue estimates.
State Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow says severance tax revenues continue to be the big reason why collections are off.
“They missed the estimate by 10-point-9 million dollars for the month and compared to last year we’re down 30-point-2 percent,” Muchow said.
Severance tax collections are down $40 million through the first eight months of the fiscal year.
Severance taxes are derived mainly from coal and natural gas production. Coal production is down and while natural gas production is up the price for that gas continues to be at record lows.
Sales tax revenues are down $11 million and interest income has missed the mark by $5 million.
So far this fiscal year the state has collected just more than $2.5 billion in taxes, which misses the estimate by $35 million.
Muchow says as state income tax returns continue to be filed it’s likely the state will have to dip into the $45 million reserve fund to pay some of those returns. The last time the state used the fund was 2009.