Arkansas revenue report for August, 2008

I've been catching up this week -- sorry for the lack of posts. I'm headed out to Louisville, Kentucky to speak at a legislative conference tomorrow afternoon, so posts may be few and far between today, too.

The 2nd monthly report of the fiscal year was released yesterday, and revenues are coming in above forecast, thanks largely to gains in gross receipts, individual income taxes, and a transfer from the Unclaimed Property proceeds. Collections for the fiscal year are $38.8 million above forecast and $35.8 million above last year's collections as of this month.

Collections of net available general revenues for August were $350.7 million. That is 4.8% above August, 2007 and 5,4% above forecast. Gross receipts collections for August, which include sales/use taxes, totaled $411.0 million (about 6.4% above August, 2007 and 3.7% above forecast). Gross receipts are a key indicator of consumer spending, which comprises roughly two-thirds of economic activity.

Individual income tax collections are 5.2% above projections (and 9.2% above August, 2007) and corporate income tax collections are 59.2% above forecast and 50.9% above August, 2007. Collections of individual income tax returns came in at $170.8 million, and corporate income tax collections were $11.5 million.

Click here for the report