The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration on Wednesday reported February net available general revenue of $406.6 million, down $30.8 million, or 7%, from a year ago.
The figure was still $77 million, or 23.4%, above forecast.
Revenue from two major categories, individual income tax and sales tax, was above the revised forecast last month. The department reported that individual income tax collection benefited from continued high growth in payroll withholding, which increased 10.7% compared to February 2021.
Individual income tax collections totaled $264.8 million, an increase of $26.5 million, or 11.1%, from last year. Collections beat the projected amount by $62.6 million, or 13.4%.
Sales tax collections came in at $2228.2 million, up $6.3 million, or 2.9%, from the same month a year ago. Collections were above the monthly forecast by $5.1 million, or 2.3%. The department reported that results were mixed compared to a year ago, with retail declining from stimulus-fueled gains in 2021. There was continued high growth in other sectors, led by sectors still in recovery from the pandemic, including restaurants and personal services. Auto sales tax collections were up 10% from a year ago, a comparison that includes the historic winter storm that brought the state to a standstill for about a week.
February’s corporate income tax collections, at $7 million, were up $1.7 million from February 2021 but about $100,000 below forecast. February is a seasonally low month for collection in the category, according to the department.
Among smaller revenue sources, tobacco was above forecast by about $800,000 million and below collections a year ago. Results in gaming revenue were below forecast for the month by $300,000.
Individual income tax refunds in February totaled $52 million, an increase of $50.8 million from a year ago and $18.7 million below forecast. The difference was attributed to the delayed start of IRS processing last year and the return of normal times this year.
Corporate income tax refunds totaled $13.6 million in the month. The amount is $6.8 million higher than last year and $2.6 million above forecast.
Fiscal year-to-date net available general revenue was $4.54 billion, 5.7% higher than the same time last year and 7.5% above forecast.
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