Oklahoma Oil, Gas Tax Revenues Hit 17-Year Low

Oklahoma Treasurer Ken Miller will appoint the next State Bond Advisor after lawmakers restructured the office.

DALLAS – Oklahoma oil and gas tax revenues fell to their lowest level in 17 years in April as the Sooner State's gross receipts marked a year of contraction, state Treasurer Ken Miller said.

Total monthly gross receipts of $1.18 billion were the smallest April total in four years and are less than the same month of last year by $140.4 million, or 10.6%, Miller said.

At $11.26 billion, gross receipts for the previous 12 months are the lowest since June 2013, representing a loss of $847 million.

"As measured by Gross Receipts to the Treasury, the gains received during the expansion following the Great Recession have been returned," Miller said. "The state's anchor industry continues to work through a supply-driven contraction and the effect is being seen in each of Oklahoma's revenue streams."

The report comes as the Oklahoma Legislature looks for ways to close a $1.3 billion revenue shortfall in the three weeks remaining in the 2016 session.

Sen. Greg Treat, vice chairman on the Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers are looking for ways to divert money from existing programs into the general fund.

Treat said the Senate wants to limit the use of one-time money that could help the budget this year but would not solve the problem in the long run.

Moody's Investors Service, which has a negative outlook on Oklahoma's Aa2 credit, looks askance at one-time measures that do provide structural balance.

"The large budget imbalance presents a significant test for Oklahoma, whose constitution requires a three-quarters supermajority of the legislature to raise taxes, something it has not done since 2005," Moody's analyst Julius Vizner said in a March report. "Oklahoma in fact implemented an income tax cut this January and current state law calls for another cut in two years, depending on meeting certain revenue triggers."

Gross income tax collections, a combination of personal and corporate income taxes, generated $604.3 million, a decrease of $101.3 million or 14.4% from the previous April, Miller reported.

Personal income tax collections for April are $525.3 million, down by $108.8 million, or 17.2% from the prior year. Corporate collections are $79 million, an increase of $7.5 million or 10.5%.

Sales tax collections, including remittances on behalf of cities and counties, total $357.7 million in April. That is $11.7 million or 3.2% less than April 2015.

Compared to March reports, gross production collections from the oil and gas industry are down by $2.8 million or 12%, Miller said.

Motor vehicle taxes produced $61.9 million, down by $4.4 million or 6.6% from the same month of last year.

Gross Receipts to the Treasury provide a broad look at the Oklahoma economy and include total collections before payment of income tax refunds, sales tax remittance to cities and counties, and allocation of motor vehicle collections to school districts, among others, Miller said.

For reprint and licensing requests for this article, click here.
Oklahoma
MORE FROM BOND BUYER