September revenue collections for the major taxes totaled $4.844 billion, down $258.4 million, or 5.1%, from last September, according to a Tuesday release from the New Jersey Department of the Treasury. The majority of the month’s anticipated decline in revenues was due to lower quarterly estimated payments and higher refunds under the Gross Income Tax. Year-to-date, total collections of $7.880 billion are down $517 million, or 6.2%, from the same period last fiscal year.
September collections for the GIT, which are dedicated to the Property Tax Relief Fund, totaled $1.683 billion, down $189.2 million, or 10.1% below last year.
Employer withholding collections continued to show strength in the face of uncertainty in the labor market. Declines in estimated and final payments, and higher refunds, more than offset the revenue increase from withholding. Fiscal year-to-date collections of $3.131 billion are down $244.4 million, or 7.2%.
The Sales and Use Tax, the largest General Fund revenue source, totaled $1.017 billion for September, down $2 million, or 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 collections also reflected the partial impact of New Jersey’s Back-To-School Sales Tax Holiday, which occurred from Aug. 26 through Sept. 4. Fiscal year-to-date collections of $2.11 billion are up $5.5 million, or 0.3%.
The Corporation Business Tax, the second largest General Fund revenue source, totaled $1.057 billion in September, a decrease of $70.6 million, or 6.3%, from last September. Fiscal year-to-date collections of $1.153 billion are down $197.5 million, or 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.
