- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Monday, March 5, 2012
Contact: Robert R. Bliss
blissr@dor.state.ma.us
617-626-2369
Collection is $79 million more than a year ago and $38 million above benchmark
Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter today announced that preliminary revenue collections for February 2012 totaled $1.011 billion, up $79 million or 8.5 percent from a year ago and $38 million above the February benchmark.
“This performance is largely due to higher than expected income tax withholding, income tax payments with returns and bills, sales and use tax collections, and corporate and business tax collections, which more than offset greater than forecast income tax refund payments,” Pitter said.
FY12 year-to-date tax collections total $12.895 billion, up $315 million or 2.5 percent from a year ago and are now $58 million below the revised year-to-date benchmark of $21.010 billion.
February is historically the smallest net tax collection month of the fiscal year as there are no quarterly estimated or final annual payments due. February is also the month in which refunds start to accumulate as taxpayers submit their returns for the prior tax year.
The February withholding collection totaled $796 million, up $53 million or 7.2 percent, and was $17 million above benchmark. Income tax payments with returns and bills of $57 million were up $7 million or 13.8 percent from a year ago, and were $14 million above benchmark. Income tax refunds totaled $408 million, up $30 million or 7.8 percent from a year ago, $19 million above benchmark.
Sales tax collections totaled $372 million, up $29 million or 8.6 percent, $11 million above benchmark.
February is a small month for corporate/business tax collections, but the collection of $42 million was up $18 million or 75.2 percent from a year ago and was $11 million above benchmark.
Year-to-date income tax collections of $7.305 billion are up $211 million or 3.0 percent from the same period a year ago, and are $189 million below benchmark.
Year-to-date sales and use tax collections of $3.397 billion are up $84 million or 2.5 percent from the same period a year ago, and are $53 million above benchmark.
Year-to-date corporate and business tax collections of $992 million are down $17 million or 1.7 percent from the same period a year ago, and are $50 million above benchmark.
