- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Ann C. Dufresne
617-626-2369
dufresnea@dor.state.ma.us
(Boston, MA) - Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter today announced that preliminary revenue collections for December totaled $2.146 billion, $179 million or 9.1 percent more than the state took in last December. Strong income and corporate and business payments offset weak sales and use tax collections to end the month $133 million above the monthly benchmark based on the revised FY13 revenue estimate of $21.496 billion.
Tax collections for the first half of the fiscal year total $10.049 billion, $204 million or 2.1 percent more than a year ago and $133 million above the year-to-date benchmark.
“As DOR noted during the revenue consensus hearing there was the possibility that individuals and businesses might accelerate bonus and dividend payments in December because of the potential for higher federal taxes in the new year,” said Commissioner Pitter. “This uncertainty about higher taxes might have caused an acceleration in bonus related payments since such payments typically begin to come in during the last week of December. Since the bonus season continues well into next year, we will not know how their overall performance will be during fiscal year 2013 for quite some time.”
The Commissioner also noted that $95 million in one-time corporate and business settlements came in during December. Year to date tax related settlements in excess of $10 million now total $120 million.
Income tax collections in December totaled $1.228 billion, $85 million or 7.5 percent more than a year ago and were $43 million above benchmark. Income withholding was $119 million or 12.8 percent above a year ago and was $89 million above benchmark. Income estimated payments of $162 million were $31 million or 16.0 percent lower than a year ago and $40 million below benchmark.
Sales tax collections for November totaled $412 million, down $14 million or 3.2 percent from the same period a year ago and $6 million below benchmark.
Corporate/business tax collections of $356 million were $102 million higher than a year ago and were $91 million above benchmark primarily due to the large collection of one-time settlements.
FY2013 Year-to-Date Tax Revenue Through December 31, 2012
December 2012 Tax Collection Summary (in $ millions) (Preliminary as of January 3, 2012)
