Providence, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Department of Revenue today released its FY 2017 Cash Collections Report for December 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 December are up 1.4 percent, or $24.4 million more than was received last fiscal year through December of 2015. The growth rate for FY 2017 through December was 56 percent of the growth rate recorded in the FY 2016 through December period last year, down from 60 percent in the November 2016 report. FY 2017 personal income tax cash collections through December were $7.9 million more than in FY 2016 through December while FY 2017 through December sales and use tax cash collections were also $7.9 million more than the same period in FY 2016. FY 2017 through December departmental receipts were greater than the same period in FY 2016 by a total of $16.4 million. The lottery transfer for the FY 2017 year-to-date period through December was relatively flat vis-à-vis the same period in FY 2016 while fiscal year-to-date through December 2016 all other revenues were $8.2 million less than the same period last year.
Notable cash collections items on a December fiscal year-to-date basis included: • Total personal income tax cash collections of approximately $629.3 million, up $7.9 million or 1.3 percent year-to-date. o Personal income tax withholding payments up $30.2 million or 5.8 percent year to date, significantly more than the 1.2 percent fiscal year to date growth rate recorded in December 2015. This increase includes the receipt of a large, infrequently occurring payment of $3.3 million in August 2016. o Personal income tax final payments up $7.5 million, or 28.7 percent year-to-date, a sharp reversal from the 0.7 percent fiscal year-to-date growth rate for the same period last fiscal year. o Personal income tax refunds and adjustments up $30.2 million or 165.4 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 December 2016 sales and use tax cash collections up $7.9 million, or 1.6 percent, from FY 2016 through December although the spread recorded in December 2016 fiscal year-to-date is approximately one-half of the spread recorded in December 2015 fiscal year-to-date. • FY 2017 all other general revenue sources cash collections through December are down relative to last fiscal year at this time, due in large part to fiscal year-to-date-over-fiscal year-to-date declines in business corporations tax, motor vehicle license and fees, estate and transfer tax, cigarettes tax, and health care provider assessment cash collections. • Fiscal year-to-date through December 2016 departmental receipts cash collections are $16.4 million, or 7.4 percent, more than in FY 2016 through December primarily due to increased FY 2016 hospital licensing fee payments received in July 2016.
Notable month of December cash collections items included: • December 2016 personal income tax cash collections of $128.1 million, 0.8 percent below December 2015 and well above the 12.6 percent growth rate recorded last year. o December 2016 personal income tax withholding payments cash collections were up 5.0 percent, or $5.1 million, versus December 2015. o A year-over-year increase in December 2016 personal income tax refunds and adjustments of $3.8 million is a result of the decrease in the backlog of personal income tax returns as levels return to normal. • December 2016 sales and use tax cash collections of $76.6 million are 1.4 percent below December 2015. The decrease in December 2016 sales and use tax cash collections is due to a sizable decrease in net Taxation receipts as both registry receipts and sales and use tax payments from the Providence Place Mall were up year-over-year. • Lower all other revenues cash collections than in December 2015 by a total of $9.1 million or 20.9 percent. Million dollar plus year-over-year decreases in business corporations tax, motor vehicle license and fees, and cigarettes tax cash collections swamped marginal increases other general business taxes. • Increased lottery transfer for December 2016 of $371,844 or 1.3 percent more than December 2015. o Traditional lottery games, monitor games such as Keno, and Twin River table games showed year-over-year gains in revenue transferred to the general fund while video lottery terminals at Twin River and Newport Grand yielded decreases 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.