Atlanta, Georgia – Georgia’s net tax collections showed modest growth in November. This was due to a mix of tax policy changes made after storms and uneven performance across main tax categories. State officials said that net tax revenues for the month were about $2.4 billion. This is $22.4 million, or 0.9 percent, more than the same time last year.
For the first five months of the fiscal year, the total amount of net tax collections was about $13.28 billion. That number is $262.7 million, or 2.0 percent, more than what was collected in November of last year, when the total was roughly $13.02 billion. However, the comparisons were affected by the fact that the vehicle fuel tax was put on hold after Hurricane Helene in October, which changed when the money came in.
Without motor fuel taxes, revenues in November were down 2.1 percent from the same month a year earlier. Adjusted for motor fuel taxes, revenues were up 1.4 percent so far this year.
In November, the government collected around $1.13 billion in individual income taxes, which was less than the previous month. That number was 4.0% lower than the previous year, or $46.7 million. The drop was caused by lower withholding payments, fewer return payments, and more refunds being sent out during the month. The drops in some individual income tax categories were only partly made up for by gains in other areas.
The money collected from sales and use taxes helped raise overall revenues. The total amount of sales and use tax collections went up by 2.4% to $1.64 billion. Compared to last year, net sales and use tax collection went up by $23.5 million, or 3%. Local governments also got more money, with adjusted sales tax transfers going up by $18.6 million.
The amount of corporate income tax collected dropped a lot, going down by $38.3 million from last year. The decline was mostly because there were more refunds and fewer return payments.
The amount of money collected from the motor fuel tax went up a lot in November because the tax was not suspended last year. At the same time, collections of motor vehicle tag and title fees went down, but collections of title ad valorem taxes went up slightly.
Overall, the data from November show that the state’s revenue is steadily but unevenly changing as the fiscal year goes on.
