Georgia tax revenue down 5.7% in October, officials report

ATLANTA — Georgia officials reported the state’s tax revenue in October was down by millions of dollars, in part due to decreases in income tax collections and issuing of income tax refunds increasing by more than 30%.

In October, overall net tax collections hit $2.62 billion, which was a 3.1% decrease from the year before, or $84.4 million less.

The state said $70.5 million of the October revenue drop was due to the suspension of the Georgia gas tax in September.

However, the 5.7% revenue drop was a decrease excluding the suspension of state fuel tax collection, according to officials.

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Year-to-date for the fiscal year, Georgia officials said revenue collections were 4.2% higher, or up $428.6 million from the same four months as last year.

This time period is based on the start of the fiscal year, which runs from July to June, rather than the January to December of a calendar year.

Excluding fuel tax changes, revenues for the four months ended Oct. 31 were down 2% from this time a year ago, according to officials, at 5.7%.

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In addition to the increase in tax refunds, which came out to a $62.9 million raise over the last year, Georgia officials said tax income tax withholding payments for October were up $54.7% compared to the previous fiscal year.

Additionally, individual income tax payments were down 32.6%, or $137.8 million.

Individual income tax estimated payments also decreased $23 million, or 45.3%, and all other individual tax categories were down a combined $16.2 million, according to the governor’s office.

Sales and use taxes were higher, but not much.

In October, the state collected $1.51 billion in sales tax, which was a 1.1% or $17.1 million increase over the previous fiscal year. The net sales and use tax decreased $12.2 million from October 2022 to October 2023. State officials said that was equal to $763.6 million.

“The adjusted Sales Tax distribution to local governments totaled $752.3 million for an increase of $29.9 million or 4.1 percent from last year, while Sales Tax refunds decreased by $0.5 million compared to FY 2023,” the governor’s office said.

Separately, corporate income taxes increased by more than 24%, made up of a combination of corporate income tax refunds increasing while tax return payments increased, and tax payments were up as well.

Collectively, even though repayments and refunds were up, the overall payments made to the state by businesses pushed them up for a total collection of $106.5 million, a full $25.8 million higher than the year before.

While calculated separately, taxes are still taxes, so Georgians got some relief at the gas pump thanks to an executive order from Gov. Brian Kemp. While the suspension started Sept. 13, and was extended in October, the state still collected an increased revenue.

“Motor Fuel Tax collections for October increased by $70.5 million compared to FY 2023,” officials explained. “Motor Fuel tax is reported by distributors in the month following its collection, and as such, this revenue was collected in September prior to suspension of the tax.”

Before the September suspension, Georgia had gone nearly a year without a gas tax, with collection on fuel returning in January.

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