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Arkansas revenue in October above forecast and same month last year

Arkansas Capitol

Tax revenue in the first four months of Arkansas’ fiscal year that began in July is up 1.2% compared to a record period in 2020, with fiscal year-to-date collections in major categories just slightly above forecasts.

Revenue between July and October was $2.589 billion, up 1.2% compared with the 2020 period, according to Tuesday’s report from the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. The revenue is 0.7% above the budget forecast.

Arkansas ended fiscal year 2021 with a revenue surplus of $945.7 million thanks in part to the COVID-19 induced shift in a tax filing deadline from June to October that pushed some of fiscal 2020 income tax payments into 2021.

Individual income tax revenue in the first four fiscal months was $1.15 billion, down 9.4% from the same period in 2020, and 0.9% above the budget estimate. Sales and use tax revenue, an indicator of consumer spending, was $1.029 billion in the first four months up 9.1% compared with the 2020 period and 0.2% over the budget forecast.

“Major reporting sectors of Sales Tax displayed mixed results compared to a year ago, with high growth in sectors that experienced later recovery (restaurants and personal services) and lower growth in sectors that rebounded earlier (retail and car sales). Motor vehicle sales tax collections were down 5.0 percent from year ago October. Retail Trade was up 0.6 percent after a 30 percent gain last October,” John Shelnutt, DFA director of economic analysis and tax research, noted in the report.

Corporate income tax revenue totaled $227.2 million, up $62.4 million compared with the same period in 2020 and 0.8% above the budget forecast.

OCTOBER REVENUE

Gross revenue in October was $634.9 million, up 12.3% compared with October 2020 and 2.8% above forecast. Individual income tax revenue was $310.7 million, up 17.7% over October 2020 and 3.5% above the budget forecast. Shelnut noted that individual withholding tax was up 13.5% in October over October 2020, a sign of increased employment.

Sales and use tax revenue in October was $253.7 million, up 6% compared with October 2020 and 1% above the forecast. Corporate income tax revenue was $36.1 million, up $5.5 million compared with October 2020 and $1.9 million above the forecast.

This story comes from the staff of Talk Business & Politics, a content partner with KUAR News. You can hear the weekly program on Mondays at 6:06 p.m.