Virginia Governor Ralph S. Northam released numbers from the August 2021 Revenue Report showing Virginia's economy continues to recover from pandemic lows last spring. According to administration numbers, the General Fund rose 18.9 percent in August 2021 when compared to the same period in 2020.
Collections of payroll withholding taxes increased 12.7 percent in August. Collections of sales and use taxes, reflecting July sales, grew 20.2 percent in August. Recordation taxes from real estate transactions increased by 8.9 percent. There was one more deposit day this August than there was August of last year. The first estimated payments from individuals, corporations and insurance companies are due in September.
On a year-to-date basis,
collections of payroll withholding taxes—62 percent of General Fund
revenues—were up 9.6 percent, above the annual estimate of a 1.7 percent
increase. Sales tax collections—17 percent of General Fund revenues—grew
14.3 percent year-to-date, ahead of the forecast of a 4.2 percent
decline. On a fiscal year-to-date basis, total revenue collections rose
5.2 percent in August, above the annual forecast of an 8.0 percent decline.
