Providence, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Department of Revenue today released its FY 2017 Cash Collections Report for September 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 September are up 2.6 percent, or $23.9 million more than was received last fiscal year through September of 2015. The growth rate for FY 2017 through September is about one-half of the 5.1 percent growth rate recorded in the FY 2016 through September period last year. FY 2017 personal income tax cash collections through September were $7.3 million more than in FY 2016 through September while FY 2017 through September sales and use tax cash collections were $6.3 million more than the same period in FY 2016. FY 2017 through September departmental receipts and the lottery transfer were greater than the same period in FY 2016 by a combined total of $10.9 million while fiscal year-to-date through September 2016 all other revenues were slightly below the same period last year.
Notable cash collections items on a September fiscal year-to-date basis included: • Total personal income tax cash collections of approximately $312.4 million, up $7.3 million or 2.4 percent year-to-date. o Personal income tax withholding payments up $19.7 million or 7.9 percent year to date, more than double the 3.9 percent fiscal year to date growth rate recorded in September 2015. o Personal income tax refunds and adjustments up $13.6 million or 114.5 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 September 2016 sales and use tax cash collections up $6.3 million, or 2.3 percent, from FY 2016 through September 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 September are down $540,857 relative to last fiscal year at this time. This decrease is due in part to business corporations tax cash collections falling $6.6 million below FY 2016 year-to-date through September cash collections. • Fiscal year-to-date through September 2016 departmental receipts cash collections are $9.6 million, or 5.2 percent, more than in FY 2016 through September primarily due to increased FY 2016 hospital licensing fee payments received in July 2016. • The FY 2017 lottery transfer through September is $1.4 million more than in FY 2016 through September, or growth of 2.2 percent.
Notable month of September cash collections items included: • Increased September 2016 personal income tax cash collections of $3.3 million, 2.5 percent above September 2015. o The increase in September 2016 personal income tax cash collections was driven overwhelmingly by an increase of $4.5 million or 5.4 percent in personal income tax withholding payments versus September 2015. o The year-over-year increase in September 2016 personal income withholding payments was offset in part by a year-over-year increase in personal income tax refunds and adjustments of $1.5 million in September 2016. • Lagging September 2016 sales and use tax cash collections of $485,642, 0.6 percent below September 2015. The decline in September 2016 sales and use tax cash collections vis-à-vis September 2015 is concentrated in motor vehicle use tax receipts which are $1.2 million less in September 2016 versus September 2015. • Significantly lower all other revenues cash collections than in September 2015 by $11.8 million or 24.9 percent. Significant year-over-year decreases in business corporations tax and cigarettes tax cash collections account for most of this decrease. • Decreased lottery transfer for September 2016 of $715,828, or 2.4 percent less than September 2015. o Traditional lottery games and the video lottery terminals at Twin River showed year-over-year declines in revenue transferred to the general fund while lottery monitor games, table games at Twin River and Newport Grand video lottery terminals yielding 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.