DALLAS — Oklahoma tax collections could reach pre-recession levels by mid-2012, Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday, as the state economy builds on gains achieved in 2011. “We saw a quickened pace of the recovery for 2011,” he said.
“We saw healthy growth each month ranging from 4% to 16% with an average at the double-digit mark,” Miller said at the state capitol. “December was 11.1% better than the prior year, the fourth quarter was 10.5% ahead of the final three months of 2010, and total year collections surpassed the previous year by 9.6%.”
December revenue totaled $960.8 million, up $96 million from December 2010, Miller said. It was the fifth time in the past eight months that revenues were up 10% from the previous year, and the 22nd consecutive month of revenue growth.
“Twelve-month collections now stand more than $1.3 billion higher than in February of 2010,” he said. “Since we hit the trough almost two years ago, more than 68% of the revenue lost from our peak in December 2008 has been recovered.”
The holidays boosted sales tax revenue, which were up 6.3% from mid-November to mid-December from the same period of 2010. “Of course, if anybody is like I am, most of your money was spent for Christmas on Dec. 24,” Miller said. “So we should see some more of the Christmas sales coming in next month in the collections as we take the last 10 days.”
Personal income tax and state sales tax revenues are up because more Oklahomans are employed, Miller said. The state unemployment rate in November was 6.1%, when the national average was 8.6%.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission said unemployment in November fell in 75 of the state’s 77 counties. Tax collections in the fourth quarter totaled $2.6 billion, up $247 million from the year before. They include $990.4 million of sales tax revenues and $883.5 million of corporate and personal income tax collections. Gross state revenue in calendar 2011 totaled $10.7 billion, an increase of $938.6 million from 2010.
Collections in 2011 included $3.84 billion from the sales tax, $3.2 billion in personal income tax revenue and $515.8 million from the corporate tax, and $1 billion of oil and gas production taxes.q
The Oklahoma Board of Equalization adopted an official estimate that calls for $6.5 billion of revenues available for appropriation by the Legislature in fiscal 2012, up $400 million from fiscal 2011 collections.
The Legislature will convene Feb. 6.
