(The Center Square) – According to data from the Alabama Department of Revenue, tax receipts fell by 2.36% in August compared to the same time the previous year.
The state’s tax revenues dropped from $1.35 billion in August 2023 to $1.32 billion, driven primarily by shortfalls in both sales and personal income tax collections.
Despite August’s drop, tax collections for the fiscal year to date are still up compared to last year. The state has collected $15.4 billion compared to $15.1 billion last year, a gain of 2.28%.
The state’s sales tax, which is one of its largest sources of revenue, had a nearly 5% drop from August 2023. Revenues were down from $270.8 million in August 2023 to $260.1 million in August 2024, a fall-off of 4.82%.
The state also collected less income tax revenue, as receipts for the corporate (54.62%) and personal (1.78%) were down in August compared to the same time last year. Personal income tax collections were down from $694.8 million to $682.5 million, while corporate receipts dropped from nearly $40 million to $18 million.
Another indicator of economic activity is the state’s lodging tax and those collections were down compared to August 2023. The state collected $13.6 million this August compared to $14.8 million, a drop of 8.27%.
Vehicle title collections were also down in August compared to the same time last year. The state collected $1.93 million this August compared to $2 million in August 2023, a drop of 4.21%%
Gas tax collections were up in August compared to the same time last year, with a 4.39% gain at $63.8 million compared to $61.1 million in August 2023.
The state’s use tax, which is levied on all out-of-state purchases including online ones, had its collections grow by 11.73%, improving to nearly $53 million compared to $47.4 million in August 2023.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Alabama’s unemployment rate in July was 2.8% and its labor force participation rate was 57.5%.