- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Monday, August 4, 2008
Robert R. Bliss
blissr@dor.state.ma.us
617-626-2369
Boost from one-time settlement pushes monthly collection over benchmark
Revenue Commissioner Navjeet K. Bal today announced that preliminary revenue collections for July 2008 totaled $1.383 billion, up $87 million or 6.7 percent from last July.
Total tax collections were $38 million above the July monthly benchmark based on the FY09 revenue estimate of $21.402 billion. Fueling the collection was a one-time $80.3 million corporate tax settlement payment.
Without the settlement, monthly revenue would have been $7 million above the collections of a year ago. July collections for both withholding and sales tax were both well below benchmark.
"Factor out the corporate tax settlement of $80 million and the month's revenue collections were soft," said DOR Commissioner Navjeet K. Bal.
Sales tax collections totaled $362 million, down $19 million or 4.9 percent from a year ago and $42 million below benchmark. July withholding totaled $716 million, up $29 million or 4.2 percent from July 2007 but $18 million below the benchmark.
July is a small month for corporate and business tax collections, which totaled $120 million, up $70 million or 139.6 percent and $85 million above the benchmark thanks to the $80.3 million one-time settlement.
FY2009 Year-to-Date Tax Revenue through July 31, 2008
July 2008 Tax Collections Summary (in $ millions - preliminary as of August 4, 2008)