Providence, R.I. -- The Rhode Island Department of Revenue today released its FY 2020 Cash Collections Report for December 2019. The Cash Collections Report, which is issued monthly, 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 deposits and provides readers with insight into the state's cash flow over the course of the fiscal year.
Rhode Island Department of Revenue Director Mark A. Furcolo noted: "FY 2020 total general revenue cash collections through December are 4.6% higher than cash collections received last fiscal year through December, a difference of $91.9 million. The fiscal year-to-date growth rate is below the 8.3% growth rate recorded in the FY 2019 through December period last year with some of the difference in FY 2020 due to the reduced lottery transfer in December 2019. FY 2020 personal income tax cash collections through December were $26.7 million more than in FY 2019 through December, while FY 2020 year-to-date sales and use tax cash collections were $41.8 million above the same period last fiscal year. Year-to-date FY 2020 estate and transfer tax cash collections continue to be supported by the receipt of $25.8 million in large infrequently occurring estate and transfer tax payment(s) in October and were $18.8 million more than last fiscal year. Insurance company gross premiums tax cash collections were $18.7 million more in FY 2020 through December than in the same period in FY 2019"
Notable cash collections items on a December fiscal year-to-date basis included: • Total personal income tax cash collections of $692.2 million, up 4.0% year-to-date. o Personal income tax withholding payments are up $17.1 million or 2.9% year-to-date, slightly above the 2.6% fiscal 2019 year to date growth rate recorded in December 2018. o Personal income tax refunds and adjustments are $9.7 million, or 20.8%, more year-to-date, vs. the 14.3% increase recorded for the fiscal 2019 year-to-date period in December 2018. o Year-to-date estimated and final payments are a combined $19.3 million more in FY 2020 than in FY 2019, an increase of 16.1% fiscal year-to-date over fiscal year-to-date. This compares to a decrease of 14.3% for the same period in FY 2019. • Year-to-date December 2019 sales and use tax cash collections were up 7.3% in comparison to FY 2019 through December with total non-motor vehicle receipts $39.1 million more, meal and beverage receipts 8.0% more and motor vehicle sales and use tax receipts (i.e., Registry Receipts) $2.6 million more than the prior year. • All other general revenue sources cash collections through December were up $51.0 million relative to last fiscal year. This increase reflects higher cash collections for estate and transfer taxes of $18.8 million and higher insurance company gross premiums tax receipts of $18.7 million vs. the same period last fiscal year. • Fiscal year-to-date through December 2019 departmental receipts cash collections are $6.1 million, or 2.2% more than in FY 2019 through December due to the transfer of settlement revenues to the general fund by the Office of the Attorney General, higher collections of interest and penalty on overdue taxes and in spite of the early receipt in FY 2019 of $9.2 million in license fees for securities. • The lottery transfer in the new fiscal year reflects transfers of $155.7 million in FY 2020 through December vs. $189.3 million in FY 2019 through December. The FY 2020 year-to-date transfer consists of only the traditional cash transfer for July through November gaming activity vs. a contemporaneous transfer of $27.2 million and the traditional cash transfer for July through November gaming activity in FY 2019 through December.
Notable month of December cash collections items included: • Decreased December 2019 personal income tax cash collections of $7.6 million, 5.8% below December 2018. o The decrease in December 2019 personal income tax cash collections is primarily attributable to a decrease in withholding payments of $3.6 million or 3.0% and an increase in refunds and adjustments of $6.1 million or 83.5% vs. December 2018. These decreases are offset in part by an increase in final payments of $1.4 million, a variance of 36.0%. • Increased December 2019 sales and use tax cash collections of $3.7 million or 4.2% from December 2018 with continued monthly growth in sales and use taxes received from sales activity other than motor vehicle purchases and meals and beverages prepared for immediate consumption of 4.8% coupled with an increase in sales tax collections on meals and beverages of 5.4% and a decrease in use tax collected on the registration of motor vehicles of $96,316. • Total general business taxes for December are $17.8 million more than the same month last fiscal year, an increase of 24.6%. This increase was fueled in large part by insurance company gross premiums tax cash collections, which are $7.8 million more than in December of FY 2019, an increase of 38.0% and public utilities gross earnings tax cash collections, which are 44.1 million above December of 2018, but include a transfer of $1.6 million from sales and use tax to correct for a misfiled return in June 2019. Multi-million dollar increases in business corporation tax and financial institutions tax cash collections were also realized in December 2019. • Increased cigarette and other tobacco products excise tax cash collections for December 2019 of $3.3 million vs. December 2018, a variance of 29.8%. • Lower departmental receipts cash collections in December 2019 of $4.8 million, a variance of 20.9%, due to the early receipt in December 2019 of $9.2 million in registration fees for securities. • Decreased lottery transfer cash collections for December 2019 vs. December 2018 of $30.3 million, a result of lower contemporaneous transfers to the general fund in December 2019.
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/2020.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.