Deal: December tax revenues up 3.6 percent

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia’s net tax collections for December totaled $2.04 billion, for an increase of $67.7 million, or 3.6 percent, over December 2014. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled $10.44 billion, an increase of $834.2 million, or 8.7 percent, compared to December 2014, when net tax revenues totaled nearly $9.61 billion.

House Bill 170, which introduced an array of both tax reforms and new tax legislation beginning on July 1, generated transportation revenue of $67.0 million in December. As a result, total net collection revenue for December 2015 increased by 7.1 percent over December 2014.

The changes below within the following tax categories contributed to December’s overall net tax revenue increase:

Individual Income Tax:  Individual Income Tax collections during the month totaled $1.11 billion, up from nearly $1.09 billion in December 2014, for an increase of $27.1 million, or 2.5 percent.

The following notable components within Individual Income Tax combine for the net increase:

• Individual Income Tax Withholding payments were up approximately $14.4 million, or 1.5 percent.
• Income Tax refunds, totaling $47.4 million during the month, were up $9.7 million, or 25.8 percent.
• Individual Income Tax Estimated payments were up $10.1 million, or 7.0 percent.
• All other Individual Tax categories, including Non-Resident Return payments, were up nearly $12.3 million.

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales Tax collections deposited during the month totaled $830.9 million, for a decrease of $3.0 million, or -0.4 percent, compared to December 2014. Net Sales Tax revenue decreased $4.7 million, or -1.1 percent, compared to last year, when net sales tax totaled $431.0 million. The adjusted distribution of sales and use tax to local governments totaled nearly $398.8 million, for an increase of approximately $1.3 million, or 0.3 percent, over the previous fiscal year. Lastly, sales tax refunds increased by $0.4 million compared to December 2014.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections in December totaled $200.8 million, for an increase of nearly $13.6 million, or 7.3 percent, compared to last year, when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled $187.2 million.

The following notable components within Corporate Income Tax make up the net increase:

• Corporate Tax refunds issued (net of voids) were down $6.6 million, or -52.3 percent.
• Corporate Income Tax Estimated payments were up approximately $3.9 million, or 2.5 percent.
•  All other Corporate Tax categories, including S-Corp Return payments, were up a combined $3.1 million.

Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees: Tag and Title Fee collections increased by $8.2 million, or 40.7 percent, compared to December 2014. Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections totaled $68.1 million, for an increase of $17.8 million, or 35.4 percent, over the previous year.