Texas Comptroller Announces Revenue For Fiscal 2019, August State Sales Tax Collection

AUSTIN — Yesterday, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar released totals for fiscal 2019 state revenues, in addition to announcing monthly state revenues for August.

• General revenue-related revenue was $57.87 billion, up 1.2 percent over fiscal 2018.
• Sales tax revenue for fiscal 2019 was $34.02 billion, up 6.5 percent from fiscal 2018.
• Oil production tax revenue was $3.89 billion, up 14.6 percent over fiscal 2018.
• Natural gas production tax revenue was $1.69 billion, up 17.8 percent over fiscal 2018.
• All Funds tax collections were $59.38 billion, up 6.8 percent over fiscal 2018.
• All Funds revenue was $127.94 billion, up 6.5 percent over fiscal 2018.

“Yearly revenues were in line with our projections in the revised Biennial Revenue Estimate (BRE) released in May,” Hegar said. “As expected, the economy and state revenues continued to grow modestly.”

The Economic Stabilization Fund (ESF) and State Highway Fund (SHF) both receive funding from oil and natural gas severance taxes.

In November, the Comptroller’s office will deposit $1.67 billion in each of those funds, up from the $1.38 billion deposited in each fund in November 2018. The ESF is projected to have a balance of $7.8 billion at the end of fiscal 2020.

Hegar also said that state sales tax revenue totaled $2.99 billion in August, 4 percent more than in August 2018.

“Moderate growth in August state sales tax revenue was led by remittances from the construction, manufacturing and wholesale trade sectors,” Hegar said. “Receipts from the oil and gas mining and retail trade sectors remained at last year’s levels, while receipts from the information services sector declined.”

Total sales tax revenue for the three months ending in August 2019 was up 3.9 percent compared to the same period a year ago. Sales tax is the largest source of state funding for the state budget, accounting for 57 percent of all tax collections.

In August 2019, Texas collected the following revenue from other major taxes:

• motor vehicle sales and rental taxes — $488.3 million, up 0.3 percent from August 2018;
• motor fuel taxes — $327.1 million, up 5.7 percent from August 2018;
• natural gas production taxes — $102.3 million, down 19.2 percent from August 2018; and
• oil production taxes — $355.5 million, down 6.2 percent from August 2018.