PROVIDENCE – Total general revenue has increased on a fiscal year-to-date and monthly basis, according to the state Department of Revenue’s fiscal 2015 Cash Collections Report for October.
For the first four months of fiscal 2015, total general revenue was $1,136,637,597 compared with $1,099,844,635 during the same period in fiscal 2014, a 3.3 percent increase.
Among the five categories that comprise total general revenue, departmental receipts had the greatest increase, at 8.6 percent, during that time period, from $189.6 million to $206 million. Personal income tax rose 3 percent, from $363.1 million to $374 million. Lottery transfer decreased 1.3 percent, however, from $97.9 million to $96.7 million.
Director of Revenue Rosemary Booth Gallogly said that year-to-date, fiscal 2015 cash collections continue to show solid growth over the same period last year.
“The acceleration of fiscal year-to-date growth in cash collections is a good barometer of the general level of economic activity in the state. Sales and use tax cash collections have continued their strong pace and, even with personal income tax refunds ahead of last year and personal income tax final payments behind last year, overall personal income tax cash collections are still up 3.0 percent on a fiscal year-to-date over fiscal year-to-date basis,” she said in a statement.
Comparing October 2014 with October 2013, total general revenue again increased, this time by 4.4 percent.
Total general revenue was $253.2 million in October, which is $10.7 million higher than it was in October 2013.
Departmental receipts had the greatest gain at 17.6 percent, going from $19 million in October 2013 to $22.3 million in October 2014. Lottery transfer cash collections had the only decrease, going from $31.4 million in October 2013 to $30.5 million in October 2014.
“Year-over-year personal income tax cash collections in October were up 3.2 percent, an increase from September’s year-over-year rate of 2.2 percent. Growth in year-over-year sales and use tax cash collections in October 2014 were also stronger than the year-over-year growth experienced in September 2014. The lottery transfer cash collections resumed the negative year-over-year growth in October 2014 that had been common since March 2014.
“We were hoping that September 2014’s positive year-over-year growth in the lottery transfer was the beginning of a positive trend in the lottery transfer but it now looks like September 2014’s performance was more than likely an aberration,” Gallogly said.
