Miller: Tax Receipt Slump Continues
Oklahoma tax receipts continue to decline
by Rick Green
For the 18th straight month, Oklahoma’s gross tax receipts dropped in August as the state continues to struggle with an oil industry decline that has reduced employment.
“We keep scouring through the data to find signs of an impending turnaround, but it’s just not there,” state Treasurer Ken Miller said. “Some aspects of the August report aren’t as negative as in prior months – a few revenue streams have ticked up slightly – but we can’t yet point to a positive trend.”
These receipts, which provide a broad view of state economic activity, were down by 4 percent in August compared to the same month last year.
The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission previously announced that the state’s unemployment rate was 5 percent in July, one-tenth of one percentage point higher than the national rate of 4.9 percent and the first time the state rate surpassed the national rate since August 2003.