PA Capitol News

On August 1, the Department of Revenue announced Pennsylvania collected $2.3 billion in General Fund revenue in July, the first month of the 2019-20 fiscal year, which was 4.1 percent-- $90.8 million-- better than in July 2018.

The tax revenue sources with the largest increase from the prior year include corporate net income tax, personal income tax and inheritance tax. Sales and use tax and realty transfer tax declined due to new or expanded transfers.

Revenues by tax or category--

-- Sales tax receipts totaled $925.4 million in July.

-- Personal income tax (PIT) revenue in July was $1 billion.

-- Corporation tax revenue was $116.9 million for July.

-- General Fund revenue figures for July included $98.5 million in inheritance tax and $21.1 million in realty transfer tax.

-- Other General Fund tax revenue, including cigarette, malt beverage, liquor and gaming taxes totaled $110.4 million for the month.

-- Non-tax revenue totaled $34 million for the month.

In addition to the General Fund collections, the Motor License Fund received $223 million for the month, which includes the commonly known gas and diesel taxes, as well as other license, fine and fee revenues.

July collection data does not include a comparison against anticipated amounts because revenue estimates for each month are not yet finalized.

Click Here for the monthly Revenue and Economic Update from the Independent Fiscal Office.

PA Lottery Sales, Profits Hit New Record In FY 2018-19; Profits Top $1.14 Billion

The Pennsylvania Lottery sold a record of more than $4.5 billion in games in the 2018-19 fiscal year, from which it generated a record profit of more than $1.14 billion to benefit older Pennsylvanians. Read more here.

In addition, a record of more than $2.9 billion in prizes was paid to winners.

“Benefitting older Pennsylvanians every day is more than just our mission statement. Families across the Commonwealth rely on the vital senior programs that are funded by the Pennsylvania Lottery. That is why we are extremely proud to have set a new profit record while exceeding $1 billion in proceeds to benefit older adults for the eighth consecutive year,” said Pennsylvania Lottery Executive Director Drew Svitko. “As we strive to do more for our older population in the next fiscal year, we are grateful for the support of our players, business partners and the entire Lottery team for making this record year possible.”

Overall results of the fiscal year, July 1, 2018 to June 30, 2019, include:

-- Traditional game sales totaled more than $4.5 billion; up by $302.7 million or 7.2 percent year-to-year and breaking the previous sales record of $4.2 billion from the 2017-18 fiscal year.

-- Profit generated for the Lottery Fund totaled more than $1.14 billion, an increase of $49.6 million from the prior fiscal year. The previous record profit was set in 2015-16, which totaled $1.12 billion.

-- Traditional game prizes paid to winners grew to a record of more than $2.9 billion, an increase of $193.3 million. A total of 70 players won prizes of $1 million or more during the fiscal year.

-- More than 9,700 licensed Lottery retailers statewide, many of them small and family-owned businesses, earned an estimated $266 million in sales commissions, an increase of more than $41.8 million from the prior fiscal year, 2017-18.

By-category sales summaries are as follows:

-- Sales of Scratch-Off games totaled a record of more than $2.9 billion, up by $165.5 million, or 5.9 percent, from the previous year and surpassing the previous record of $2.8 billion set in 2017-18. These games accounted for over 66 percent of total sales.

-- Sales of Draw Games – including the PICK family of games and Wild Ball, Treasure Hunt, Cash 5, Match 6, Millionaire Raffle, Cash4Life®, Powerball®, and Mega Millions® – totaled close to $1.4 billion for the fiscal year, up $109.4 million, or 8.7 percent, from the previous year’s total. Highlights from the category include:

-- Sales of multi-state games (Powerball®, Mega Millions® and Cash4Life®) grew by more than $82.2 million, or over 19 percent, from the prior year. Several large Powerball® and Mega Millions® jackpots helped to grow revenues for this category.

-- Lottery’s modernization efforts, including PA iLottery and its monitor games, Keno and Xpress Sports, generated more than $40 million in profits in their first full fiscal year:

-- Sales through PA iLottery, online games played on a computer, tablet or mobile device, saw more than $381 million in play in its first full fiscal year, generating an estimated $31.3 million in profit. More than 91,100 players created online accounts this fiscal year, and more than $332 million in prizes were paid out to iLottery winners.

-- Sales of monitor games, which include Keno and Xpress Sports games, totaled an estimated $46.7 million in their first full fiscal year, generating an estimated $10 million in profit.

“We are thrilled that the new and exciting games that were authorized by Act 42 of 2017 are proving to be a tremendous success,” added Svitko. “We’re always working hard to find innovative ways we can responsibly grow profits to benefit older Pennsylvanians.”

Click Here for a copy of the FY 2018-19 Annual Report.