State Sales Tax Collections Remain Strong through August

The State of Idaho recently released its September 2022 Idaho General Fund Revenue Report (available here). For the second month in a row, state general fund revenues fell short of predicted revenues. Individual income tax collections once again were less than the same month of the prior year (down 10% compared to last August). For the year, state individual income taxes are down 4.5% compared to last year. The reductions in income tax collections shouldn’t come as a surprise given the Idaho Legislature has cut income tax rates in each of the last two legislative sessions.

Unlike income tax collections, state sales tax collections continue to be strong. Overall sales tax collections were up 9% for the month of August and are up 10.3% for the state fiscal year. The continued increase in state sales tax collections bodes well for revenue sharing which is up 11.87% compared to last year. Online sales tax collections also rebounded from their dip in July.

Other important revenue increases of note for counties include distributions to the Highway Distribution Fund (up 5.27% for the year) and the Election Consolidation Fund (up 9.97% for the year). A full breakdown of state general fund revenues through August can be found here.