Good News, Bad News as June Tax Collections Wind Down

Income tax revenues paid to the Franchise Tax Board are $482 million ahead of budget estimates as of June 27, according to the board’s daily tally sheet.

However a surge in refund requests has lessened the amount corporate taxes for the month were outpacing projections.

With three days left in the month, the board reports receiving nearly $4.2 billion in income tax payments and more than $218 million in refund requests. 

Gov. Jerry Brown’s revised budget, unveiled in May, expected $3.75 billion to be collected by the board in June, less $291 million in refunds. 

June has become the second largest revenue collection month for the state – almost as big as April.

That’s because the September estimated tax payment was eliminated in 2009 and the second quarter – payable June 15 – was bumped up from 30 percent to 40 percent of what’s expected to be owed for taxes next April.

Overall, Brown’s budget expects a total of $6.9 billion in income tax payments this June, less the $291 million in refunds. 

Of the net $6.6 billion, $3.1 billion is the money employers withhold from employee paychecks. That’s sent to the Employment Development Department.

The remaining $3.5 billion in the budget estimate is what the tax board collects.

The $4.2 billion collected, less the $218 million in refund requests yields a net of nearly $4 billion in receipts – close to $500 million more than expectations.

June is also a big month for bank and corporations collections.

A June 26 surge in corporate refund requests now has corporate tax collections running closer to Brown administration estimates.

The governor’s Department of Finance expects $2 billion in corporate taxes less $67 million in refunds for a net of roughly $1.9 billion.

Although nearly $2.1 billion in taxes have been collected, $103 million in refund requests were logged June 26 bringing the month’s total to $151 million – more than double Brown’s estimate – and driving the collections closer to assumptions in the Democratic governor’s revised budget.

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