(The Center Square) – Texas’ fiscal 2022 tax revenues and its monthly revenue for August broke records and predicted forecasts, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.
“Revenues continue to outpace even our most recent forecast as All Funds tax collections closed the fiscal year $841 million above the projection in our Certification Revenue Estimate,” Hegar said.
“To put it into perspective, only five times since 1988 has the rate of growth in Texas’ All Funds tax collections exceeded the prior fiscal year by double digits – and those increases ranged from 10% to 13%.
“This year’s rate of growth was almost double the previous high in that time,” Hegar said. “Over the last many months, economic growth and inflation have driven higher sales tax collections as demand remains strong and businesses and consumers continue to pay elevated prices for goods.”
Texas residents and businesses paid a record amount in taxes, including:
- General Revenue-related revenue for fiscal 2022 totaled $76.47 billion, up 26.4% from fiscal 2021.
- All Funds revenue was $183.34 billion, up 7.5% from fiscal 2021.
- All Funds tax collections were $77.21 billion, up 25.6% from fiscal 2021.
- Sales tax revenue was $42.97 billion, up 19.3% from fiscal 2021.
- Motor vehicle sales and rental tax revenue was $6.45 billion, up 12.5% from fiscal 2021.
- Oil production tax revenue was $6.36 billion, up 84.4% from fiscal 2021.
- Natural gas production tax revenue was $4.47 billion, up 185% from fiscal 2021.
- Franchise tax revenue was $5.67 billion, up 25.2% from fiscal 2021.
The record amount of taxes paid by the Texas oil and gas industry funds the Economic Stabilization Fund and State Highway Fund. Within 90 days, $3.64 billion will be deposited into each of these funds as a direct result of the taxes paid by the Texas oil and gas industry.
This is an increase of $1.46 billion deposited in each fund from November 2021.
August revenue totals also broke records. They’re based on sales made in July and remitted to the state in August.
State sales tax revenue totaled $3.77 billion in August, 13% more than in August 2021.
“The strong growth in August came from receipts remitted by the oil and gas mining sector, which were up by nearly 80 percent compared with a year ago,” Hegar said. “Receipts from the construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors showed double-digit growth for the ninth consecutive month, demonstrating continued strong spending by businesses in the state.”
He noted that receipts from nearly all segments of the retail sector were higher than a year ago, with online shopping and sales at grocery stores among the highest. Receipts from restaurants were also up from last year.
Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in August 2022 was up 14.7% compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 56% of all tax collections.
In August, Texas received taxes paid in July from motor vehicle sales and rental taxes totaling $651 million, the highest monthly collections on record, up 4%t from August 2021.
The next highest total paid was from oil production taxes totaling $609 million, up 50% from August 2021, and $525 million from natural gas production taxes, up 144% from August 2021.
Collections from motor fuel taxes paid in July totaled $320 million, down 3% from August 2021; hotel occupancy taxes totaled $69 million, up 6% from August 2021; alcoholic beverage taxes totaled $145 million, up 7% from August 2021.
The Texas Rainy Day fund is projected to be over $44 billion by fiscal year 2023. $27 billion of which is in the general fund. President Trump wanted only a mere $5 billion to build the complete wall at our southern border. Why can’t Texas come up with enough to build a wall at the Texas border?