Vermont Business Magazine Vermont tax revenues essentially broke even in December as the vital Personal Income Tax rebounded. It had languished through much of the first half of the fiscal year, but has now made up nearly all of its lost ground. General Fund (GF) revenues totaled $128.00 million for December versus the monthly target of $128.26 million, -$0.26 million or –0.20% short. The shortfall was due primarily to the Corporate Income Tax category. Personal Income Taxes of $70.65 million exceeded target by +$2.66 million or +3.91%, while Corporate Income Taxes of $14.94 million fell below target by -$4.91 million, or –24.75%. The December results left the cumulative year-to-date General Fund receipts slightly above target. The cumulative GF revenues total of $668.00 million remains slightly above the Y-T-D target by +$0.85 million, or +0.13%. Y-T-D December revenue receipts for FY 2016 exceeded the prior year (FY 2015) results by +$24.05 million, or +3.73%.
Administration Secretary Justin Johnson said, “Although the GF-Fund receipts for December fell slightly below target, it was not enough to erase the fact that we remain ahead of both our cumulative Y-T-D target and the prior fiscal year results.”
The Transportation Fund was ahead of targets as the Gasoline Tax surged, while the Education Fund fell back as Sales Tax numbers, plagued by warm weather, set-back the start of the ski season. December is the sixth month of FY 2016. The fiscal year revenue targets were adopted by the Vermont Emergency Board on July 27, 2015. The current targets will be reviewed and revised, as deemed necessary, by the E-Board at the next meeting scheduled on January 19, 2016.
The Transportation Fund (TF) dedicated receipts for December of $21.70 million, exceeded the monthly target by +$1.30 million, or +6.35%, resulting in cumulative year to date receipts of $130.58 million, which exceed the cumulative target by +$1.42 million, or +1.10%. Compared to the prior fiscal year (FY 2015) the current cumulative results for TF are +$2.38 million, or +1.85% ahead.
The Education Fund (EF) receipts were +$14.37 million, or +2.23% below the monthly target of $14.70 million, driven largely by the below target Lottery transfer (-$0.34 million, or –18.31%). The EF cumulative results through December fell to -$0.65, or –0.70% below the Y-T-D target while remaining ahead of the prior fiscal year (FY 2015) by +$3.04 mil-lion, or +3.30%.
Johnson concluded, "Another month of “steady as you go” revenue and economic growth bringing in the GF and TF above the six-month targets. This keeps us on track to meet the full year FY 2016 revenue targets."
