Data put out by Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance shows the government’s operating at a surplus with increased taxes and major cost reductions in two critical areas.
Information for the June quarter shows a surplus of $6.5 billion for the quarter against a planned deficit of a mere $58 million. Helping in achieving the positive outturn was near $4 billion in lower interest payments and the increased taxes and reduced expenditure of $3.6 billion on other areas of government operations. Capital expenditure saw $1.5 billion more spent than budget, while grants pulled in $3 billion less than planned.
Tax revenues brought in $128.7 billion, up 3.3 percent over budget and revenues from PAYE grew just one percent above budget, at $14.4 billion. Motor Vehicle license rose 7.7 percent above budget to reach $1 billion. GCT on local goods and services slipped 2.3 percent below budget to end at $24 billion but is up strongly on the total take for the 2018 first quarter. GCT on imports of $20.4 billion rose 2.7 percent above budget. Travel tax climbed 10.3 percent to $5 billion while betting, gaming and lottery taxes pulled in 28.6 percent more than in 2018 with $1.26 billion coming in for the June 2019 period.
The improvement is a continuation of healthy tax inflows for a number of years and is a sign of continued economic growth for the country.
More taxes less cost keep GOJ in black
August 18, 2019 by IC Insider.com
Filed Under: Economy, Feature Stories Tagged With: GCT, Government revenues, Jamaica Government, Jamaica Government fiscal, Ministry of Finance, Nigel Clarke
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