Arkansas has a billion-dollar surplus for the second straight fiscal year, the state Department of Finance and Administration reported Wednesday.
Tax collections in fiscal 2023 were $1.16 billion above forecast, below the record surplus of $1.63 billion the previous year but higher than the $945.7 million surplus recorded in fiscal 2021.
“The economy outperformed expectations across the fiscal year in revenue results amid volatility from slowing inflation, tax reductions and tight labor markets,” Finance and Administration Secretary Larry Walther said in a statement.
Net available general revenue totaled $7.16 billion, about $126 million, or 1.8%, above forecast.
The fiscal year ended above forecast in all major categories of collections and above fiscal 2022 levels in sales tax collections. The department said declines in income tax collections were less than expected after tax rate reductions took effect.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders in April signed a $124 million tax cut into law.
Fiscal 2023 sales tax collections totaled $3.42 billion, an increase of $263.6 million, or 8,4%, from the previous year and 1% above forecast.
Individual income tax collections totaled $3.92 billion, down $255.6 million, or 6.1%, from fiscal 2022. The figure is $42.4 million, or 1.1%, above forecast.
Corporate income tax collections for the year totaled $842.5 million, an increase of $5.3 million, or 0.6%, from fiscal 2022. The figure is $51.8 million, or 6.5%, above forecast.
For the month of June, net available general revenue totaled $769.9 million, down $9.1 million, or 1.2%, from the same month a year ago.
Revenue was above forecast in all major categories.
Sales and use tax collections totaled $312.6 million. That’s up $26.6 million, or 9.3%, from a year ago and above forecast by $20.3 million, or 6.9%. The department reported that motor vehicle sales tax collections were up 7.4% from June 2022 largely due to increased production and increased fleet sales.
Individual income tax collections in June totaled $313.4 million, falling by $25.3 million, or 7.5%, compared to the same month in 2022. Collections were above forecast by 10.8%. Withholding tax from payrolls were up by 1.9% from year ago, which the department said reflects a mix of effects from income tax reduction and continued growth in payroll earnings.
Corporate income tax collections totaled $122.3 million, down $11.2 million, or 8.4%, from June 2022 and $53.3 million above forecast.
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