Income tax bounces back in May revenue report

Hannah News Service 

Incomes taxes generated more than $200 million above expected collections in May, bearing out the Office of Budget and Management’s explanation last month that an April miss of about $120 million was mostly a matter of timing, according to preliminary revenue figures released this week. 

The monthly report puts Ohio’s FY23 overage at more than $840 million as lawmakers enter the final month of deliberations on the FY24-25 biennial budget. 

May’s income tax collections reached $1 billion versus expectations of $759.6 million, nearly $242 million or 31.9% more than expected. OBM had said last month that the underperformance of about $120 million was a matter of income tax refunds that were expected to happen in April instead being processed in May.  

Sales taxes missed estimates by $16.3 million or 1.4%, with a $1.2 million or 0.7% overage in the auto sales tax offset by a $17.6 million or 1.8% miss on non-auto sales taxes. Total sales tax collections reached $984 million in May. 

The Commercial Activity Tax brought in $426.7 million, 2.8% or $11.7 million more than expected. 

Total tax receipts for May reached $2.76 billion compared to expectations of $2.55 billion, $214 million or 8.4% ahead of estimates. 

For FY23 so far, total tax collections reached $26.18 billion, $840.7 million or 3.3% more than forecast. 

Compared to this point in FY22, tax collections are ahead by $744.3 million or 2.9%.