Pa. collected $2.8B in taxes in November; State still ahead of estimates | Tuesday Morning Coffee

Ever find yourself in line at Sheetz (or Wawa, or Turkey Hill, or Rutter’s, or even Royal Farms, depending on your convenience store proclivities) thinking you have $20 in your wallet to get your snack fix, only to be cruelly reminded you’re only carrying a $10 and some stray singles?

That could be the best way to sum up Pennsylvania’s tax collections last month, with the state taking in a still-healthy $2.8 billion in general fund revenues, but nonetheless still coming up $201.9 million, or 6.8 percent, short of its projections for the month.

So put down the bag of Utz sour cream and onion and the can of Liquid Death. You’ll have to come back tomorrow.

In a statement, Revenue Secretary Dan Hassell attributed the majority of the shortfall to personal income tax collections that were set to be deposited a day later than anticipated. That, in turn, means that PIT collections will be ahead of projections for December. Though the whole business should even out by the time the fiscal year ends next June.

The overall silver lining here is that the state is still moderately ahead of its year-to-date collection projections, taking in $15.7 billion, which is $183.2 million, or 1.2 percent, above estimate, state data showed.

Below, a look at tax collections by major category.

Sales Taxes: Sales tax receipts totaled $1.1 billion for November, which was $0.2 million below estimate. Year-to-date sales tax collections came in at $5.9 billion, which was $137.1 million, or 2.4 percent, ahead of estimates.

Income Taxes: PIT revenue in November totaled $994.1 million, which was $178.3 million below estimate. That brought year-to-date PIT collections to $6 billion, which was $177.8 million, or 2.9 percent, behind projections, according to the Revenue Department.

Corporate Taxes: Corporate taxes totaled $181 million, which was $2.3 million less than anticipated, state data showed. Year-to-date corporate tax collections totaled $1.7 billion, which was $212.4 million, or 14 percent, above estimate.

Inheritance Taxes: Inheritance taxes totaled $109.3 million in November, or $11.9 million below estimate. That brought the year-to-date total to $587.7 million, which was $22.4 million, or 3.7 percent, below estimates, state data showed.

Realty Transfer Taxes: Thanks, interest rates. Realty transfer tax revenue was $46.1 million last month, or $15.7 million behind projections. That brought year-to-date totals to $296.1 million, which was $3.4 million, or 1.1 percent, less than anticipated, state data showed.

Other Stuff: Miscellaneous revenues, including cigarette, malt beverage, and liquor and gaming taxes, totaled $167.2 million for the month, which was $17.2 million below estimate. That brought the year-to-date total to $765.4 million million, which is $27.4 million, or 3.5 percent, below estimate, Revenue Department data showed.