- Massachusetts Department of Revenue
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Robert R. Bliss
blissr@dor.state.ma.us
617-626-2369
Monthly collection is $28 million more than a year ago and $29 million below benchmark
Revenue Commissioner Amy Pitter today announced that preliminary revenue collections for March 2012 totaled $1.802 billion, up $28 million or 1.6 percent from last March.
Total tax collections were $29 million below the March monthly benchmark corresponding to the revised FY12 revenue estimate of $21.010 billion.
FY12 year-to-date tax collections total $14.697 billion, up $343 million or 2.4 percent from the same period a year ago, and are $87 million below benchmark.
March is the largest corporate and business excise tax collection month of the year. Payments with tax returns and extensions are due for most corporations for the prior tax year, as are the first corporate estimated payments for the current tax year.
“A slowdown in corporate and business tax collections is largely responsible for the March results,” Pitter said, “while over the course of the first nine months of FY12, the year-to-date below benchmark performance is related to less than forecast income withholding and income tax cash estimated payments.”
“Withholding overall has grown, but not at the rate forecast, while income tax cash estimated payments dropped off in December and since then have been flat, possibly reflecting a slow down in the collection of investment related income,” Pitter said of the year-to-date numbers.
Overall March income tax collections totaled $693 million, up $58 million or 9.1 percent, $19 million above the monthly benchmark. Withholding taxes totaled $891 million, up $38 million or 4.4 percent from a year ago, $9 million above the benchmark.
Income tax refunds totaled $287 million, down $21 million or 6.9 percent from a year ago, $30 million below benchmark. Income tax payments with returns and bills totaled $76 million, down $3 million or 3.4 percent from a year ago, $22 million below benchmark.
Corporate/business tax collections of $604 million for March 2012 were down $32 million or 5.1 percent from a year ago, $50 million below benchmark.
Sales and use tax collections of $373 million in March 2012 were up $10 million or 2.9 percent from a year ago, and hit the monthly benchmark.
Overall, year to date sales tax collections of $3.770 billion are up $94 million or 2.6 percent, $52 million above benchmark. Corporate and business tax collections of $1.596 billion are down $49 million or 3.0 percent, $1 million above benchmark. Income tax collections of $8.000 billion are up $270 million or 3.5 percent, $169 million below benchmark, with income withholding up $260 million but $74 million below benchmark. Income tax cash estimated payments are running $73 million below benchmark.
