The Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration on Tuesday reported September net available general revenue of $705.9 million, down $60.2 million, or 7.9%, from a year ago.
Collections came in above forecast by $74.9 million, or 11.9% higher than projected.
The department reported that gross general revenue in the month totaled $801.3 million, a decrease of $48.3 million, or 5.7%, from the same month a year ago. The figure was $77 million, or 10.6%, above forecast.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, revenue came in $108 million above forecast. In a statement, Department of Finance and Administration Secretary Jim Hudson said the surplus points toward “continued strength in the Arkansas economy.”
In September, all major collection categories were above forecast.
Sales tax collection collections totaled $296.9 million, an increase of $8.2 million, or 2.8%, above last year. That beat the projected amount by $17.6 million, or 6.3%. Motor vehicle sales tax collections were down 19.7% from year ago, in part because of a one-time shift of the registration payment deadline extension.
Individual income tax collections totaled $349.9 million, down $11.5 million, or 3.2%, compared to last year and above forecast by $39 million, or 12.5%. Individual withholding tax revenue increased 0.4% compared to September 2022, in part from withholding tax rate reductions from income tax rate cuts and minor payday timing benefits compared to a year ago.
Corporate income collections totaled $120 million, down $44.7 million from a year ago and $20.4 million above forecast.
Among smaller revenue sources, tobacco tax collections totaled $15.8 million, lower than a year ago and about $300,000 below forecast.
Gaming tax revenue came in at $4 million, higher than in September 2022 and above forecast by about $300,000.
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