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Treasurer reports higher-than-expected income-tax receipts; bank reconciliations and staffing noted
Summary
Treasurer Wagers reported income-tax receipts trending above estimates year to date, driven largely by net-profit tax gains, while the tax department is short two clerks and bank reconciliations for March and April remain incomplete. Staff also reported 11 missed quarterly wage filings to Ohio Jobs and Family Services are under review.
Treasurer Wagers told the Finance, Claims, Budget and Audit Committee that year-to-date income-tax receipts are above last year—s estimates and that May collections helped offset a processing slowdown in April. The treasurer said the largest driver of the increase is net-profit tax receipts, which rose substantially compared with the same period last year.
"So just to put it in super plain talk, we have more income than we, anticipated," Wagers said. He provided the committee with a current income-tax receipt summary and said staff expect the overage to persist through the year, though they remain conservative in long-term projections because net-profit collections can be unpredictable.
Wagers said the tax office is short two tax clerks and is recruiting; that staffing shortage caused some delay in preparing estimate notices and required staff reallocations that temporarily delayed bank reconciliations. "March is pretty much done. April, they're working on," he said about the reconciliations, and staff told the committee they expect to present catch-up reconciliations in June or July once resources are available.
Separately, Yeager flagged 11 missed filings for quarterly payments to Ohio Jobs and Family Services related to unemployment wage reporting. Staff said the state may follow up by interviewing staff to determine why filings were late and whether recovery actions are warranted; responsibility and any recovery would be determined through the state—s review process.
Wagers said the treasurer—s office increased conservative revenue estimates used in the FRP and that the jump in year-to-date receipts is concentrated in net-profit tax, which rose markedly from roughly $1.34 million last May to about $2.5 million so far this year. He cautioned that net-profit tax is volatile and can swing year to year.
Next steps: the treasurer—s office will continue recruiting to fill two tax-clerk vacancies, resume bank reconciliations and report progress to the committee; the state—s review of missed quarterly filings will proceed through its legal process to determine any findings or recoveries.
