State October Revenue Numbers Below Estimates

The state’s October revenue numbers are in, and they are below estimates. 

The state shapes its budget, or what it spends, based on what the governor projects the state will make, known as its expected revenues. 

For the month of October, the actual revenue numbers were down by around 4 percent. The state is nearly $14 million behind in estimated revenues for the fiscal year. 

State revenues from Personal Income Tax and Severance Tax were down by more than  $50 million but an increase in corporate tax and dividends on the state’s investments helped offset those reduced revenues.  

Since 2022 the governor and the Legislature have reduced taxes by just over 27 percent. There is a trigger in place that could result in another 4 percent tax cut by the end of the current fiscal year. 

The year-by-year surplus has plummeted from $1.8 billion in 2023, to $826 million in 2024, to a projected $80 million in 2025. That’s a nearly 95 percent decrease in the last three years in surplus money. Those monies are used to keep programs in need going, like most recently the state’s employees health insurance.