Deal: September tax revenues up 3.1 percent

Gov. Nathan Deal today announced that Georgia’s net tax collections for September totaled nearly $2.08 billion, for an increase of approximately $62 million, or 3.1 percent, compared to last year when net tax collections totaled roughly $2.01 billion. Year-to-date, net tax revenue collections totaled $5.48 billion, for an increase of $171.5 million, or 3.2 percent, compared to September 2016, when net tax revenues totaled $5.31 billion.

The changes within the following tax categories contributed to the overall net tax revenue increase in September:

Individual Income Tax: Individual Income Tax collections for the month totaled $1.05 billion, up from nearly $1.02 billion in September 2016, for an increase of $36.7 million, or 3.6 percent.

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

• Individual Income Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $4.2 million, or -6.6 percent.
• Individual Withholding payments were up $38.7 million, or 4.7 percent.
• Non-Resident Income Tax Return payments were down $11.5 million, or -25.1 percent.
• All other Individual Tax categories, including Estimated payments, were up a combined $5.3 million.

Sales and Use Tax: Gross Sales and Use Tax collections deposited during the month increased by $66.7 million, or 7.6 percent, over last year, when gross sales tax totaled $879.3 million. Net Sales and Use Tax totaled $480.5 million for the month, an increase of $14.2 million, or 3 percent, over September 2016 when net sales tax totaled $466.3 million. The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $451 million, an increase of roughly $45 million, or 11.1 percent, over September 2016. Finally, Sales Tax refunds increased by $7.5 million, or 106.7 percent, over last year.

Corporate Income Tax: Corporate Income Tax collections for September totaled $199.6 million, for an increase of $16.1 million, or 8.8 percent, compared to last year, when net Corporate Tax revenues totaled just under $183.5 million.

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

• Corporate Tax refunds issued (net of voided checks) were down $43.7 million, or -105.3 percent.
• Corporate Income Tax Return payments for the month were down $21.7 million, or -81.5 percent.
• All other Corporate Tax categories, including Estimated Return payments, were down a combined $5.9 million.

Motor Fuel Taxes: Motor Fuel Tax collections during the month totaled $157.9 million, an increase of roughly $5.9 million, or 3.9 percent, compared to September 2016.

Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fees: Motor Vehicle Tag & Title Fee collections remained virtually flat relative to last year with an increase of just over $0.1 million, or 0.4 percent. Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) collections decreased by $10.6 million, or -11.3 percent, compared to last year’s total of $93.8 million.