Providence, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Department of Revenue today released its FY 2017 Cash Collections Report for October 2016. The Cash Collections Report, which is issued on a monthly basis, compares current fiscal year cash collections by revenue item on a fiscal year-to-date and monthly basis to prior fiscal year cash collections by revenue item. The cash collections report makes no adjustments for the timeliness of the receipt of revenues and provides readers with insight into the state's cash flow over the course of the fiscal year.
Rhode Island Department of Revenue Director Robert S. Hull noted: "FY 2017 total general revenue cash collections through October are up 2.5 percent, or $29.2 million more than was received last fiscal year through October of 2015. The growth rate for FY 2017 through October is about two-thirds of the 3.5 percent growth rate recorded in the FY 2016 through October period last year. FY 2017 personal income tax cash collections through October were $7.5 million more than in FY 2016 through October while FY 2017 through October sales and use tax cash collections were $7.4 million more than the same period in FY 2016. FY 2017 through October departmental receipts and the lottery transfer were greater than the same period in FY 2016 by a combined total of $10.8 million while fiscal year-to-date through October 2016 all other revenues were $3.6 million more than the same period last year.
Notable cash collections items on a October fiscal year-to-date basis included: • Total personal income tax cash collections of approximately $405.1 million, up $7.5 million or 1.9 percent year-to-date. o Personal income tax withholding payments up $25.1 million or 7.7 percent year to date, well more than double the 2.9 percent fiscal year to date growth rate recorded in October 2015. This increase includes the receipt of a large, infrequently occurring payment of $3.3 million in August 2016. o Personal income tax refunds and adjustments up $22.4 million or 176.2 percent year-to-date due primarily to the Division of Taxation working down the backlog of personal income tax refunds that resulted from enhanced fraud protocols and processing changes employed for the TY 2015 filing season. • Year-to-date October 2016 sales and use tax cash collections up $7.4 million, or 2.1 percent, from FY 2016 through October due in part to a $2.3 million audit recovery of prior year sales and use tax owed. • FY 2017 all other general revenue sources cash collections through October are up $3.6 million relative to last fiscal year at this time. This increase is due in large part to FY 2017 insurance companies gross premiums tax cash collections through October exceeding the same period in FY 2016 in $12.5 million. • Fiscal year-to-date through October 2016 departmental receipts cash collections are $8.5 million, or 4.2 percent, more than in FY 2016 through October primarily due to increased FY 2016 hospital licensing fee payments received in July 2016. • The FY 2017 lottery transfer through October is $2.3 million more than in FY 2016 through October, or growth of 2.5 percent impacted in part by the receipt of $1.4 million in October 2016 that was accrued back to FY 2016.
Notable month of October cash collections items included: • October 2016 personal income tax cash collections of $92.7 million, 0.2 percent above October 2015. o October 2016 personal income tax withholding cash collections increased by $5.5 million or 7.0 percent versus October 2015. o The year-over-year increase in October 2016 personal income withholding payments was offset in part by a year-over-year increase in personal income tax refunds and adjustments of $8.8 million in October 2016. • October 2016 sales and use tax cash collections of $1.1 million are 1.3 percent above October 2015. The increase in October 2016 sales and use tax cash collections vis-à-vis October 2015 is despite of an 8.0 percent decrease in motor vehicle use tax receipts in October 2016 relative to last October. • Substantively higher all other revenues cash collections than in October 2015 by $4.1 million or 17.6 percent. A sharp year-over-year increase in business corporations tax cash collections accounts for most of this rise. • Increased lottery transfer for October 2016 of $907,725, or 3.1 percent more than October 2015 driven in large part by the inclusion of $1.4 million in revenues that had been previously accrued to FY 2016. o Traditional lottery games, monitor games such as Keno, and the video lottery terminals at Twin River showed year-over-year declines in revenue transferred to the general fund while table games at Twin River and Newport Grand video lottery terminals yielded increases in revenue transferred to the general fund year-over-year.
The full cash collections report can be found on the Department of Revenue's web site, www.dor.ri,gov, under the Revenue Analysis directory or at this link: http://www.dor.ri.gov/revenue-analysis/2017.php under the State Reports tab.
Questions or comments on the report should be directed to Paul Grimaldi, Chief of Information and Public Relations by e-mail at paul.grimaldi@revenue.ri.gov or by phone at (401) 574-8766.