The Government of Jamaica bettered the fiscal out turn to February by $2.9 billion compared to the budgeted target. The improved performance was the result of revenues for the 11 months declining by $18 billion versus the budgeted amount of $354 billion and expenditure was down as well by $20.9 billion.
For the year to date, revenues are 12 percent ahead of 2013 fiscal year out turn of $336 million. With the March figures to be reported in April, revenues for the full year should increase to end in line with the growth to date and be around $385 billion compared with $344 billion at the end of March last year, assuming no major unexpected inflows.
The results to date, along with the March inflows and with the target of a primary surplus of 7.5 percent for the fiscal year, should result in the fiscal out turn ending in surplus for the first time in many years. At the end of February, the primary surplus was at $78 billion or $34 billion below the target of $111 billion set at the start of the fiscal year. Achieving this target would result in a surplus of $10 billion.
On the surface there will be concerns that revenues for February at $31.3 billion are lower than for 2013 at $31.5 billion in spite of the increased levy of new taxes at the start of the fiscal year. The apparent poor performance in February this year is due to a big intake of $6.4 billion in withholding taxes on interest, while the 2013 figures include just $2 billion. But for this big one-off inflow, the 2013 revenues would be up 7 percent. Tax revenues are up by $27 billion or 10 percent for the eleven month period with the exclusion of withholding tax on interest.
Related posts | Ministry confirms deficit wipe out | Fiscal deficit improvement continues
