A state department confirmed Monday it failed to report Wisconsin’s most recent 2012 tax revenues, which the U.S. Census Bureau statistics underreported by more than one billion dollars in its April 11 report.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which oversees the state’s tax system, said in a statement the 2012 fiscal year revenues were $1.2 billion greater than indicated in the Census Bureau’s annual report. The statement confirmed DOR’s initial fiscal year report from September.

The Census Bureau report listed Wisconsin as the only state in which total income and sales tax revenue both declined from the 2011 to 2012 fiscal years. However, according to the statement, total general revenue actually increased by 4.7 percent.

According to Brian Lavin, Census Bureau spokesperson, the Wisconsin Department of Administration, the bureau’s contact in the state, failed to provide up-to-date data before the Census Bureau’s deadline.

“In instances where we have only received preliminary data from survey respondents by these deadlines, the Census Bureau must use the data that is available,” Lavin said.

He added the bureau has now been provided with the complete information and will publish an update in 2013 in accordance with the standard revision process.

Stephanie Marquis, DOA spokesperson, confirmed in an email to The Badger Herald the state reported initial figures to the census bureau in June, but did not resubmit final revenues later in the year.

Marquis also said her department did release the correct numbers in the 2012 agency financial report. She added the Legislative Fiscal Bureau audits those numbers to be sure they are correct before publication in annual financial reports.

According to Marquis, the department asked the Census Bureau to update its website with the accurate figures and the bureau is currently deciding whether to do so prior to the next quarterly update.

Dale Knapp, research director for the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, an independent non-government organization which deals with tax policy, said he thinks this reporting failure is not necessarily a major problem.

“Mistakes happen,” he said “From everything we know, it’s a one-time mistake. If it keeps happening, that will be an issue.”

However, he added the revised data will delay his organization’s ability to conduct national tax policy comparisons.