April Revenue up 1.5% Over the Prior Year; Year to Date: State Revenue Growing at 4.5%; Ahead of Forecasted 3.5% Thirteenth Month out of Last Fourteen with Increase in Revenue Collections over Prior Year
RICHMOND – Governor Bob McDonnell announced today that April revenue collections increased by 1.5% over the prior year, continuing a trend of increased monthly state revenues dating back to last year. This is the thirteenth month out of the last fourteen in which state revenue collections exceeded the previous year’s amount. Over the last six months, state revenues have grown by 7.7%.
April is a significant month for revenue collections with final payments for tax year 2010 due April 15th for corporations and May 1 for individuals. The April revenue increase was primarily driven by withholding (+6.5%), nonwitholding (+11.1%) and sales tax (+7%- this number reflects March sales) collections. On a year-to-date basis total revenue collections have risen 4.5 percent, ahead of the annual forecast of 3.5 percent growth. Adjusting for the accelerated sales tax program in June 2010, total revenues grew 6.1 percent through April, ahead of the economic-base forecast of 5.5 percent growth.
Speaking about the latest revenue report, Governor McDonnell noted, “Virginia’s economy continues to rebound and grow. This is now the thirteenth month out of the last fourteen in which revenues have increased over the prior year. That means we are now seeing gains over previous gains, which is a positive sign that this recovery is increasingly taking hold. While we have a long way to go before every Virginian can find the good-paying and rewarding job they need and deserve, it is clear that progress is being made.”
The Governor continued, “We know that it is the private sector that creates jobs and opportunities. The proper role of government is to put in place the policies that facilitate that job creation, and free our entrepreneurs and business owners to innovate, create and succeed. That is what we are doing. Today I am in Beijing telling Chinese companies and investors why they need to be doing business in Virginia, and why they need to be buying Virginia made products. While here, we are letting them know about our low tax environment, commitment to keeping regulation and litigation to a minimum, and our recent significant investments in transportation and higher education, which are key to ensuring Virginia has the infrastructure and workforce necessary to compete and win in the 21st century economy. We will continue to take every step necessary to position Virginia to lead the nation and the world out of this recent economic downturn, and into a vibrant and dynamic future.”
The April revenue numbers are available at this link: http://www.finance.virginia.gov/KeyDocuments/RevenueReports/FY2010-2011/2011ReportsList.cfm