On February 1, the Department of Revenue reported Pennsylvania collected $2.9 billion in General Fund revenue in January, which was $113.7 million, or 3.8 percent, less than anticipated.

Fiscal year-to-date General Fund collections total $18.2 billion, which is $290 million, or 1.6 percent, above estimate.  That surplus shank significantly since December’s revenue report when the surplus was running $403.7 million over estimates.

Also on February 1, the Independent Fiscal Office reported January revenues were $99.1 million below its estimates, with fiscal year to date revenue was $320.6 million over its estimates.  Click Here for the full IFO report.

Revenue Department

Since the start of the 2018-19 fiscal year, overall tax revenue is $957.1 million, or 5.7 percent, more than was collected in the same period of the last fiscal year.

Sales tax receipts totaled $1 billion for January, $37.2 million above estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections total $6.6 billion, which is $200.4 million, or 3.1 percent, more than anticipated.

Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in January was $1.5 billion, $146.3 million below estimate. This brings year-to-date PIT collections to $7.4 billion, which is $349.7 million, or 4.5 percent, below estimate.

January corporation tax revenue of $143.1 million was $6.8 million above estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections total $1.8 billion, which is $301.4 million, or 20.1 percent, above estimate.

Inheritance tax revenue for the month was $80.2 million, $7.7 million below estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $597.9 million, which is $7.5 million, or 1.2 percent, below estimate.

Realty transfer tax revenue was $42.9 million for January, $8.4 million below estimate, bringing the fiscal-year total to $319.8 million, which is $14.1 million, or 4.2 percent, less than anticipated.

Other General Fund tax revenue, including cigarette, malt beverage, liquor and gaming taxes, totaled $114.6 million for the month, $1.7 million below estimate and bringing the year-to-date total to $1.1 billion, which is $2 million, or 0.2 percent, above estimate.

Non-tax revenue totaled $18.8 million for the month, $6.5 million above estimate, bringing the year-to-date total to $374.3 million, which is $157.5 million, or 72.6 percent, above estimate.

In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $203.9 million for the month, $19.9 million below estimate. Fiscal year-to-date collections for the fund — which include the commonly known gas and diesel taxes, as well as other license, fine and fee revenues — total $1.6 billion, which is $56.8 million, or 3.5 percent, below estimate.

NewsClips:

Gov. Wolf Outlines Plan To Restore Critical Pennsylvania Infrastructure

AP-Levy: Wolf Seeks $4.5B Capital Program Paid By Marcellus Shale Tax

Esack: Wolf Wants $4.5 Billion to Corral Sewage, Attack Blight And Boost Internet Speeds

Wolf Wants Natural Gas Severance Tax To Pay For Massive Infrastructure Rebuild

Gov. Wolf Seeks A Severance Tax Once Again

Wolf Visits Wilkes-Barre To Pitch Severance Tax To Fund $4.5B Infrastructure Program

Wolf’s Plan To Restore PA’s Infrastructure Dependent On Gas Severance Tax

Wolf Again Pitches Plan For Taxing Marcellus Gas Drillers

Meyer: Wolf Wants To Fund Infrastructure With Shale Tax; Republicans Say Nope

Reuters: PA Governor Seeks Natural Gas Tax To Raise $4.5 Billion

Levee Plan In Lycoming Grows Complicated With Wolf’s Infrastructure Proposal

Sen. Yaw: I Could Support A Reasonable Severance Tax, But Not At Expense Of Impact Fee

Editorial: Wolf’s Severance Plan Seems Ambitious

Hopey: State Parks, Forests Face $1 Billion Maintenance Funding Shortfall

PA Parks Have A Maintenance Backlog Worth $1 Billion, Report Finds

Op-Ed: Runoff Fees Support Solutions To Local Pollution, Flooding

Related Stories:

Gov. Wolf Proposes A $4.5 Billion, 4-Year Restore Pennsylvania Community & Environmental Infrastructure Investment Program

Pennsylvanians Urged To Help Preserve The Legacy Of PA’s State Parks & Forests

PUC: Act 13 Drilling Impact Fee Amounts Will Not Change For 2018 Collection Year

[Posted: Feb. 1 2019]

2/4/2019