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Published 05/14/2020 | Reading Time 1 min 29 sec
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Collections to Oklahoma’s main government operating fund missed projections by 44% last month, the biggest shortfall in modern history, state finance officials said Tuesday.
Postponing the income tax deadline from April to July, plummeting energy prices and the coronavirus-related shutdown of businesses across the state amounted to a “threefold economic gut punch,” said Office of Management and Enterprise Services Director Steve Harpe.
“Missing this month’s estimate is not a surprise, but the magnitude is notable,” he said.
Overall collections to the state’s general fund in April totaled $529 million, which is 44% below the monthly estimate. Total collections to the fund through the first 10 months of the current fiscal year were about 8.5% below the estimate, Harpe reported.
April is historically the month with the largest revenue collections. Harpe said general revenue collections haven’t missed the estimate by more than 40% in recent history.