- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Robert R. Bliss
blissr@dor.state.ma.us
617-626-2369
Revenue Commissioner Navjeet K. Bal today announced that preliminary revenue collections for March 2008 totaled $1.917 billion, up $149 million or 8.5 percent from last March.
Total tax collections were $131 million above the March monthly benchmark based on the FY08 revenue estimate of $20.225 billion, due largely to two financial institutions' payments totaling $116 million received for disallowed tax shelters, some dating back to the 1990s.
FY08 year-to-date tax collections total $14.391 billion, up $820 million or 6.0 percent ahead of the same period a year ago, and are $372 million above the FY08 year-to-date benchmark corresponding to the FY08 revenue estimate of $20.225 billion.
Commissioner Bal said that of the $372 million, about $218 million is due to three one-time payments representing prior tax years' liabilities received in February and March from disallowed tax shelters. "Without these one-time payments, corporate tax collection would be running only slightly ahead of the revised benchmark," she said.
Corporate/business tax collections of $878 million for March 2008 were up $79 million or 9.9 percent from a year ago and were $123 million above the monthly benchmark. (Without the one-time payments of $116 million, corporate/business tax collections would have totaled $762 million for March 2008, down $37 million from a year ago and only $7 million ahead of the benchmark.) Sales and use tax collections of $296 million in March 2008 were up $6 million or 2.0 percent from a year ago and were $5 million ahead of the monthly benchmark.
March income tax collections totaled $623 million, up $70 million or 12 .6 percent and $8 million above the monthly benchmark. Withholding taxes totaled $787 million, up $26 million or 3.4 percent from a year ago, $1 million below the benchmark. Income tax refunds totaled $266 million, down $16 million or 5.8 percent from a year ago, $16 million over the benchmark. Income
FY2008 Year-to-Date Tax Revenue through March 31, 2008
March 2008 Tax Collections Summary (preliminary as of April 1, 2008)
