Governor McAuliffe announced on June 12 that state General Fund collections in May increased by 4.6 percent over last year, buoyed by a strong performance in individual income tax withholding and sales tax collections. Total revenue collections increased 3.7 percent on a year-to-date basis, outpacing the forecast of 2.9 percent growth. As noted in April, May is a significant month for revenue collections, which generally must be evaluated in tandem with April receipts to provide an accurate picture of the state’s revenue, since estimated and final payments for non-withholding are processed over the course of both months.
Individual income tax withholding continues to perform above expectations, with growth of 8.2 percent in May (including an additional deposit day). On a year-to-date basis, growth in withholding of 5.1 percent is outpacing the forecast of 3.6 percent growth. By contrast, nonwithholding collections have declined 2.2 percent on a year-to-date basis; collections were projected to drop only 0.7 percent. Sales tax collections grew 4.1 percent last month, but year-to-date collections continue to lag the annual forecast.
Secretary of Finance Richard D. Brown’s May revenue letter notes that the state must collect $2.1 billion in June in order to meet the revenue forecast; $2.2 billion was collected last June.
VACo Contact: Katie Boyle