CHARLESTON, W.Va. - State general revenue collections again exceeded expectations last month, pushing the state's current surplus over $69 million just four months into the fiscal year.
The state collected $336.7 million in general revenue during October, about $25.6 million or 8 percent above budget expectations of $311.2 million for the month.
Since the fiscal year began on July 1, the state has taken in just under $1.4 billion in revenue, 5 percent more than the $1.33 billion the state had projected it would collect by this point.
That $1.4 billion represents a 6.5 percent growth rate over last year.
State Deputy Revenue Secretary Mark Muchow said that indicates the state economy is growing faster than the rest of the country, which logged a 2.5 percent growth rate in the third quarter.
Muchow said the growth can be attributed to one sector: energy.
"The state economy is being driven ahead by coal and gas," he said. "Without coal and gas, we would be average or below average with economic performance. With coal and gas added in, West Virginia is probably doing better than the average state."
Muchow said state exports showed a 42 percent growth rate over last year through August. Coal and natural gas account for much of the export growth, and both sectors performed well in the most recent month.
They're also the leading driver of the $69 million in surplus revenue collected since July 1.
Muchow said $28.9 million of the surplus comes from greater-than-expected severance tax collections from coal and gas production.
That extra production means more business activity and therefore greater corporate income taxes, which are running about $30.8 million ahead of expectations.
About $59 million out of the $69 million is attributable to severance or corporate income taxes," Muchow said.
The rest of the surplus comes from higher-than-expected personal income and consumer sales tax revenues. Personal income tax revenues have been showing about a 14 percent growth rate over last year.
That typically indicates strong wage growth, although Muchow said it appears to be concentrated in a few sectors.
"Energy has been our leading sector so far as growth, and in the energy sector your average wage is higher than the rest of the economy," Muchow said.
He also noted the health care sector seemed to show strong wage growth year-over-year.
While the $25.6 million surplus logged in the month of October alone was a good sign, Muchow noted the calendar might have affected the figures.
Many taxes are collected on the last business day of the month, and that fell on a Monday this October as compared to a Sunday last year. That helped boost the numbers a bit because last year some revenues came in on the first day of November.
"Last year we collected on the first day of November in excess of $20 million in severance tax," Muchow said. "This year (on Nov. 1), we collected $9.6 million."
When the Nov. 1 totals are taken into account, severance tax revenues are showing a 22 percent growth rate over last year, Muchow said.