Florida Corporate Income Tax Collections Dip in September

General tax revenue in Florida for September came in just below expectations of state economists due to “lower-than-expected corporate income tax collections.”

The Legislature’s Office of Economic & Demographic Research in a report Monday said Florida collected about $4.117 billion in net general revenue in September, $27.5 million less than the economists’ forecast. The report noted that corporate income taxes for September totaled $813 million, coming in about $156.4 million below the forecast. Another $12 million collected through beverage taxes fell $1.1 million below the projection for the month, while $8 million collected on tobacco taxes was just $100,000 under the forecast.

Meanwhile, sales-tax collections, which make up the largest source of funding, accounted for $2.797 billion for the month, about $93.2 million over the projection. The sales-tax totals included revenue from tourism landing at about 2 percent higher than the monthly forecast and a 0.4 percent bump in auto sales over the September projection. Earnings on investments brought in $120.4 million, or about $1.4 million above the monthly forecast. Documentary-stamp tax collections, primarily on real estate transactions, totaled $110.9 million for the month, about $500,000 higher than projected. Also, revenue from Indian gambling totaled $98 million for the month — $23.2 million more than the monthly forecast.

General revenue is closely watched because it plays a major role in funding education, health and prison programs. The General Revenue Estimating Conference revised its outlook in August, one of at least two annual updates intended to help lawmakers craft the fiscal year budgets.