December General Revenue collections exceeded estimates by $38.2 million dollars. This was the 8th consecutive month where actual collections exceeded estimated collections. At the midpoint of FY 2011, West Virginia currently sits on a cash surplus of nearly $160 million dollars.
The graph below shows monthly estimated and actual revenue collections since the beginning of FY 2011. The surplus is presented on the secondary vertical axis (green line). West Virginia is collecting (on average) about $26.7 million extra per month.
Consumer sales and Use taxes account for 13 percent of the surplus ($21,020), Personal Income taxes account for 22 percent ($35,570), Severance taxes account for 17 percent ($26,864), and the single largest contributor to the surplus is the Corporate Income & Business Franchise Taxes, which accounts for 40 percent of the surplus ($63,121).
At this pace, West Virginia could end the fiscal year (June 2011) with a surplus of $320 million. According to the latest budget projections, the state faces a revenue gap of $191 million next year. Therefore, the Legislature could fully offset any FY 2012 budget cuts and provide additional investments to important services and programs, such as broadband expansion, workforce training, and infrastructure, with the surplus revenue.
