- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
August 1, 2003
Tim Connolly
(617) 626-2369
Revenue Commissioner Alan LeBovidge today announced that preliminary revenue collections for July were $1.048 billion, an increase of $35 million or 3.5 percent more than last July. Much of the increase can be attributed to the expanded use of electronic funds transfer (EFT) by payroll providers and some large businesses, LeBovidge said.
Total tax collections for the first month of fiscal 2004 were $15 million above the July benchmark of $1.033 billion.
"While it's always good to hit the benchmark, there is still cause for concern in these numbers,'' LeBovidge said. "Withholding taxes were up compared to last year, but were below the monthly projection. Also this year's withholding collections include increased taxes resulting from the cut in personal exemptions."
Employers did not start adjusting their withholding on wages until August or early fall of 2002. The July withholding collections this year reflect that tax increase.
LeBovidge said monthly revenue collections continue to compare favorably with last year due to an increased use of EFT. Effective July 1st, payroll companies and many large business that collect trustee taxes must pay their bills through EFT rather than mailing checks to DOR. This means tax payments are being received faster and are not spilling over into the next month. At this point last year, only a fraction of these companies were using EFT.
Income tax collections for July totaled $553 million, an increase of $15 million or 2.7 percent over last July. Withholding tax collections totaled $529 million, an increase of $15 million or 2.9 percent. Sales and use tax collections were $335 million, up $1 million or 0.3 percent. Corporate and business tax collections totaled $28 million, an increase of $7 million or 35.8 percent.
Monthly Revenue Report (PDF) (through July 31, 2003)
Monthly revenue, fiscal year-to-date revenue and actual tax collections.
