CHARLESTON, W.Va. – 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.
