The Department of the Treasury said September revenue collections for the major taxes totaled $4.844 billion, down $258.4 million (-5.1%) from September of 2022 due mainly to a decline in gross income tax quarterly payments.
Since the 2024 budget year began July 1, total collections of $7.880 billion are down $517.0 million (-6.2%) from the same period last fiscal year. The news in the FY24 September revenue report was not unexpected. Treasury officials said Tuesday they anticipate revenue declines to continue over the next few months and begin rebounding in the second half of the fiscal year.
September gross income tax collections (GIT), which are dedicated to the Property Tax Relief Fund, totaled $1.683 billion, down $189.2 million (-10.1%) below the same period last year.
Employer withholding collections continued to show strength, which signals good news for the labor market and job creation. However, the declines in estimated and final GIT payments, and higher refunds, more than offset the revenue increase from withholding. Since July, collections of $3.131 billion are down $244.4 million (-7.2 %).
The Sales and Use Tax (SUT), the largest General Fund revenue source, totaled $1.017 billion for September, down $2.0 million (-0.2%) from last year. Due to a one-month lag in the reporting and payment of sales tax, September revenue reflects consumer activity in August.
September sales tax collections also reflected the partial impact of New Jersey’s Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday, which occurred from Aug. 26 through Sept. 4. In the first quarter of the FY24 budget year, sales tax collections of $2.110 billion are up $5.5 million (+0.3%).
The Corporation Business Tax (CBT), the second largest General Fund revenue source, totaled $1.057 billion in September, a decrease of $70.6 million (-6.3%) from September 2022. Since July CBT revenues of $1.153 billion are down $197.5 million (-14.6%). All CBT revenue components are lower on a year-to-date basis, led by a decline in partnership return collections, while refunds are higher.
Pass-Through Business Alternative Income Tax (PTBAIT) revenues totaled $768.3 million in September, higher by $47.2 million (+6.6%) over the same period last year. Much of September’s revenue growth is attributable to payments by those entities that filed their final extension returns. Fiscal year-to-date revenues of $755.8 million are down by $1.7 million, which is nearly flat with the same period last year.
Petroleum Products Gross Receipts Tax (PPGRT) revenues of $124.1 million were effectively flat compared with last September, showing a $793,000 increase. Fiscal year-to-date collections of $247.5 million are down $2.9 million (-1.2%) from last year. The PPGRT rate was increased by 0.9 cents, to 31.8 cents per gallon, effective on Oct. 1, 2023.
Realty Transfer Fee revenues of $44.0 million were down $18.4 million (-29.5%) from last year, as the year-over-year declines in collections continue. Reductions in unit closed sales continue to be the main driver behind the lower realty collections, while declines in inventories of homes available for sale have accelerated for most of the year, exerting upward pressure on home prices. Mortgage rates remain at elevated levels.
