February Tax Revenues for Pennsylvania: the wages of sin

I receive monthly announcements from the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue on various tax related issues.  I wanted to share the one that just came through:  tax collections for the month of February.  It is interesting to see the relative amounts collected from each tax that the state levies.  The figures may be slightly distorted compared to the full year - there are seasonal fluctuations in revenues.  I imagine the personal income tax revenues jump in March and April, and then drop off after that, because people who owe have waited till April 15th to file.  The state of course continues to collect withholding and estimated tax payments, so income tax collections don't completely dry up after April; they return to a relatively fixed amount - with bumps every quarter when estimated taxes must be paid.  With that said, here is a snapshot of how much income the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania collected in February:

2011 Pa. Tax Collections
(in millions)                                        Feb          Feb

                                                           (actual)     (forecast)     (+/-)          (+/-%)

Sales Tax                                           573.9        581.5             -7.6           98.69%

Personal Income Tax                           671.4        695.1           -23.7           96.59%

Corporation tax                                     80.3          68.6            11.7          117.06%

Inheritance Tax                                     62.0          56.8             5.2           109.15%

Realty Transfer Tax                               15.2          15.7             -0.5           96.82%

Sin Taxes (alcohol, cigarettes, etc.)      104.0         112.2           -8.2            92.69%

Non-tax revenue                                    23.7           21.2            2.5           111.79%

     Total General Fund Revenue      1530.5       1551.1          -20.6            98.67%

Motor License Fund                             135.6         160.3          -24.7            84.59%

     Total monthly revenue               1666.1       1711.4          -45.3            97.35%

The Motor License Fund (MLF) revenues are the under-performer of the month.  What are these funds?  Here's the explanation from PennDOT:

The MLF is the constitutionally protected account that is used to fund the commonwealth’s highway program. MLF revenues consist of fuel taxes, license and registration fees, fines and penalties, and misc. sales.

While most of the other tax revenues go into the General Fund, the Motor License Fund revenues are earmarked for highway related expenses:  maintenance and repairs, bridges, turnpike, state police.

We are definitely lagging in our sin taxes.  I expect them to be counter-cyclical - in hard times people may escape through cigarettes, booze and gambling.  But in February at least, the sin tax collections are down by 7%.

You smokers, drinkers and gamblers - you're not pulling your weight.  Go and sin some more.