Oklahoma revenues were up in May despite a cooling off of the state’s oil and gas severance tax collections, Treasurer Ken Miller said last week. Collections were up 6% from last year, he said, down from the average growth of 9.2% over the last 12 months.
State general fund collections totaled $859 million in May, up $46.7 million from May 2011.
Revenue from the state severance taxes on natural gas and oil fell by 34% from May 2011 to $63.1 million last month. Energy tax collections fell in May for the sixth straight month and the seventh time in the past eight months.
“In the coming months, we will be keeping a close watch on natural gas and crude oil prices and any potential spillover effect on the Oklahoma economy,” Miller said.
May revenues include $335.5 million from the sales tax and $258.2 million from the personal income tax.
Revenues from June 2011 through May 2012 total $11 billion, Miller said. The total includes $4 billion from the sales tax and $3.9 billion from the corporate and personal income tax.
Oklahoma hits its lowest revenue point in February 2010, according to the treasurer. However, the future is bright, he said, as local employment continues to outpace the national level.
The state has added 38,500 jobs in the past 12 months, he said.
“With incomes climbing and sales tax collections on the rise, Oklahomans continue to show confidence in the economy in spite of renewed global uncertainty and a pullback in U.S. job growth,” Miller said.
