Pa. collected $4.2B in tax revenue in September; $9.8B so far this year

By John L. Micek – Capital-Star

HARRISBURG, PA – Mirroring some of the confusion in the national economy, Pennsylvania’s tax collections for September also were a mixed bag, according to newly released state data.

The commonwealth collected $4.2 billion in general fund revenue in September, coming in at $135.8 million, or 3.3 percent, ahead of projections.

Three months into the 2022-23 fiscal year, the state has collected a total of $9.8 billion in tax revenue, which is $196.2 million, or 2 percent, ahead of projections, the state Department of Revenue said Monday.

Here’s how that breaks down, by major category:

Sales Taxes: Sales tax receipts totaled $1.1 billion last month, or $2.3 million below estimates. Year-to-date sales tax collections totaled $3.6 billion, which is $43.1 million, or 1.2 percent, more than anticipated, the department said.

Personal Income Taxes: Personal income tax totaled $1.6 billion last month, or $61.8 million below estimate, the Revenue Department said. Year-to-date collections totaled.$3.8 billion, which is $68.2 million, or 1.8 percent, below estimates.

Corporate Taxes: September’s corporate tax collections totaled $1.1 billion, which was $202.4 million above estimate. Year-to-date corporation tax collections totaled $1.4 billion, which was $197.3 million, or 16.9 percent, above estimate, the Revenue Department said.

Inheritance Taxes: The state brought in $128.2 million in inheritance tax revenue last month, which was $5.1 million below estimate. That brings the year-to-date total to $355.1 million, which was $8.4 million, or 2.3 percent, below estimate.

Realty Transfer Taxes: Realty transfer tax revenue was $62.4 million for September, or $5.2 million below estimate, according to the Revenue Department. That brought the fiscal year-to-date total to $185.6 million, which was $12.9 million, or 7.5 percent, more than anticipated.

The Wolf administration also oversaw a $2.1 billion deposit into the state’s Rainy Day Fund last month, nearly doubling the size of the state’s emergency savings account, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell said in the agency’s statement. It was the second-largest deposit to date.

In a separate statement, Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity said the state’s reserves “are the strongest they’ve been in decades.

“Thanks to this deposit, the Rainy Day Fund is approaching $5 billion, positioning Pennsylvania to be able to weather a future economic downturn,” Garrity said. “Everyone knows that a fiscal cliff is looming, so saving as much as possible in the Rainy Day Fund is the right thing to do. I applaud the General Assembly and [Gov. Tom] Wolf for prioritizing our state’s future.”