Oklahoma revenue collections fall 18 percent below estimate

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) – State finance officials are delivering more bad news about Oklahoma’s economy, reporting that collections to the state’s main operating fund missed the official estimate last month by 18 percent.

The Office of Management and Enterprise Services reported Tuesday that February collections to the General Revenue Fund totaled $225.6 million, which is nearly $50 million below the official estimate used to build the current fiscal year’s budget.

The collections were more than 25 percent below those from February 2015.

While total income tax collections last month exceeded the estimate, collections for every other major tax category were well below projections.

Secretary of Finance Preston Doerflinger says lagging collections are why allocations to state agencies are being slashed by 7 percent for the remainder of the fiscal year.