MARCH TAX RECEIPTS ARE LOWEST IN FOUR YEARS, STATE TREASURER SAYS
The oil downturn continues to reduce tax money flowing to the state, which contributes to a funding crunch and forces budget cutbacks.
Tax receipts to the state Treasury in March were the lowest in four years, Treasurer Ken Miller said Wednesday.
March receipts of $940.4 million are less than March of last year by almost $17 million, or 1.8 percent. It marked an 11th consecutive month of falling collections.
“This month’s numbers show the economic contraction is ongoing and will likely continue in the near term,” Miller said. “However, we’ve seen this cycle before and know Oklahoma will recover — hopefully having learned lessons on how to better weather the storm the next time.”
Monthly collections from oil and natural gas production taxes have been lower than the same month of the prior year for 15 consecutive months.
March gross production collections are more than 40 percent lower than last March.
Monthly receipts are based on oil-field activity from January, when the average price of benchmark West Texas Intermediate crude oil was $31.68 per barrel.
Average oil prices were below that level in February, but recovered slightly in March.
Falling tax revenues have forced two across-theboard allocation cuts in the current fiscal year and a $1.3 billion hole in the budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.