State Revenues Slow But Still at Surplus

Arizona collected 9.2 percent less than anticipated in tax and other revenues in May, the Joint Legislative Budget Committee reported Wednesday.

The Monthly Fiscal Highlights report said the decline was "due to a significant one-time corporate income tax refund and a technical delay in the receipt of federal funds."

The committee reported May general fund revenue collections totaled $664 million. That is a combination of revenues from sales taxes, individual and corporate income taxes, property taxes, the state lottery and other sources.

"In May, the Department of Revenue issued a $24.3 million corporate income tax refund to one business claiming a tax credit," the report said. "Due to confidentiality statutes, DOR was unable to provide more information."

Federal Medicaid payments for the state's AHCCCS health care program for the poor were $60.4 million lower than one year ago because of a change in the timing of the payments, the report said. What was a one-time payment in May 2011 for this year was spread over several months.

While revenues missed the forecast, the year-to-date total continued well ahead of original projections, the committee reported. Through 11 months of the fiscal year, general fund revenues totaled $7.99 billion, which was $602.4 million, or 8.2 percent, higher than for the same period last year.

It also was $60.2 million ahead of the mid fiscal year forecast.

Gov. Jan Brewer proposed a budget for the next fiscal year in January based on revenue projections that were larger than what legislators expected them to be. Thus, the budget ended up being a compromise, with legislators putting $450 million of the expected surplus into a rainy day fund.

The figures through May reflect somewhat of a middle ground in actual revenues between the governor's and the legislators' projections.

Key components of the May report included sales tax revenues of $306.9 million, up 7.6 percent from a year ago, and $77.3 million for the 1-cent education sales tax, up 6.9 percent.

Individual income tax collections were down 3.7 percent, and corporate collections fell 76.3 percent, driven largely by the one-time refund.