Revenues for Government of Jamaica continue to outpace forecast, with the latest figures showing a 5.2 percent amounting to $17.4 billion increase over budget to December last year.
Revenues ended at $352 billion inclusive of capital inflows of $14.6 billion, compared with forecast of $334 billion. The main contributors company profit taxes and PAYE $2.4 billion each, and tax on interest, amounting to $2.8 billion. Special consumption taxes accounted for an increase of $2.3 billion, Education tax added $822 million, Stamp duties $1.3 billion and Custom Duties $1 billion. Travel and special consumption taxes and GCT on imports, cut $3.5 billion from forecast.
Capital spending is still running $5.4 billion below the target of $35 billion while other expenditure is under-spent by $3.7 billion, with wages down $5.2 billion and interest cost $3.9 billion, while other operating cost is up $4.3 billion over forecast.
The fiscal out turn, is a cut in the fiscal deficit by $26.6 billion, down to $23.7 billion.
GOJ revenues $26B ahead of 2015
Minister of Finance Audley Shaw pulling in revenues ahead of target.
For the current fiscal year revenues are $13.8 billion ahead of forecast with nearly $5 billion of the surplus coming in November. Intake for the 8 months to November, came in at $304 billion compared with forecast of $290 billion. In May, Minister of Finance announced tax increases of just less than $14 billion that would mostly take full effect at the start of June, with some from mid-May. Revenues from the new measures to November, would be approximately $10 billion with $4 billion to be collected for the other 4 months of the fiscal year.
While revenues are ahead of forecast expenditure are lower than projected. Total expenditure are running $10.5 billion below target to November, of this amount capital expenditure is running $8 below target. Wages are $3.8 billion short of budget while interest cost is above target by $900 million.
Overall operations incurred a deficit of $11 billion compared with projection of a deficit of $26.6 billion leading to the primary surplus ending $25 billion better that forecast at $$63.6 billion.
GOJ revenues grow faster than plan
Minister of Finance Audley Shaw
Revenues for the first quarter are running 11 percent or $12 billion ahead of the 2015 first quarter revenues. Recurrent spending dropped sharply by 8 percent against budget to hit $122.7 billion from a budget of $133.5 billion. The net result of the increase in revenues and reduced expenditure is a reduction in the fiscal deficit of just $7.5 billion, down by $26.8 billion projected.
Revenue in take for the two period is just over $9.2 billion or 15 percent ahead of the similar period for 2015. The primary surplus that was budgeted at $11 billion is now at $26.8 billion.
Tax revenues jumped 7.8 percent or $7.9 billion over forecast with the excess over budget flowing mainly from the following, corporation tax of $1.66 billion, PAYE $457 million, local GCT $2.4 billion, local stamp duty $680 million, education tax $300 million. GCT on imports accounted for $1.5 billion of the excess inflows while custom duty chipped in with $422 million but travel tax fell by $380 million.
Collector of Taxes office, Constant Spring, Kingston.
The increase in revenues is in keeping with a trend seen in the first 9 months of 2015 when revenues were growing well ahead of forecast.
The savings in the cost of debt servicing, plus the increased revenues above budget, translate to $11.8 billion or $47 billion over a full 12 months, should the trend continue, well in excess of the cost of the tax break agreed for personal income tax.
Huge increase in Government revenues
Government revenues jumped by nearly 6 percent over budget for the first two months of the fiscal year to May, while payments dropped sharply resulting in the fiscal deficit of just $4 billion for the two months, down by $11 billion projected.
Revenue in take for the two month period is just over $9.2 billion or 15 percent ahead of the similar period for 2015.
Tax revenues jumped 6 percent or $3.8 billion over forecast, flowing mainly as a result of an increase of, $530 million in withholding tax on interest, local GCT amounting $1.26 billion, stamp duty of nearly $500 million and GCT and special consumption tax on imports of $1.1 billion.
Interestingly, the increase is taking place with little input from the new taxes government implemented in May this year.
On the expenditure side, interest cost fell by $1.5 billion and normal housekeeping expenses is down by $3.4 billion while the wage bill moved up by $966 million. Capital spending was under, by $3.2 billion, with only $1.6 billion spent by May. Information, gleaned indicates that much of the under spending is due to a slow start to the fiscal year, with June spending expected to catch up.
The increase in revenues is in keeping with a trend seen in the first 9 months of 2015, when revenues were growing well ahead of forecast. Total revenues are up 21 percent or $5.9 billion ahead of the amount generated in April 2015 and 10 percent or $3.37 billion more in May this year, than for May 2015.
It early days yet, but if the trend on the revenue collection continues close to what is now being experienced, it would make it much easier for the government to meet some of the commitments they have, for 2017 onward.
GOJ in black with $6b collection
Jamaica’s Ministry of Finance newest office building
The Primary surplus ended at $3.5 billion below budget at $80 billion down from $83.5 originally planned, but the difference may be accounted for by the reduction in the target agreed by the IMF.
Elsewhere a $3 billion increase on income and profit tax above budget to February this year, helped the government to meet the deficit target set for the elven months of the fiscal year that ends in March. While the income and profits tax were ahead of target, taxes on production and consumption and on imports delivered $1.5 billion less than targeted and bauxite levy was down by $2.4 billion, no doubt caught up in the dispute and bankruptcy proceedings with Miranda Bauxite Company. Grants were also off by $3 billion from the amount budgeted.
The capital budgeted expenditure that is usually underspent in past years has been fully used up to the end of February but the government incurred less on debt servicing with lower interest cost of $3 billion for the elven months period.The month with the largest inflows of funds, March is yet to be fully compiled and not yet released. Those numbers will be important for the government going into the new fiscal year, as it would indicate what is the likely capacity for increased spending, for the year ahead. What is known is that interest cost should fall in the year as Treasury bill rates to which a large portion of the national debt is tied have been declining and this should lead to lower cost in this area.
GOJ January deficit widens
Government revenues fell and expenditure rose in December thus reducing the gains make in these areas, in the first nine months of the fiscal year. The fiscal surplus that was on target with the original plan has been cut by $5.7 billion and is now at $69.45 billion compared with a budgeted amount of $75.16 billion.
The decline in the primary surplus is in keeping with the reduction approved by the international Fund last year. The target was lower from 7.5 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 7.25 per cent for the remainder of the current fiscal year, freeing up approximately $4 billion to be spent and to 7 percent for the 2016/17 fiscal year.
For the period to January, tax revenues were ahead of target by $3.8 billion and is down from $6.6 billion from the end of 2015, interest cost that was down $4.8 billion to December, lost some of the savings, with it being $3.1 billion by January while the wages bill exceeded forecast by $3.7 billion in January having been $2.3 billion ahead of target up to December. Other expenditure that was underspend by $540 million to December is now over by $2.2 billion to January.
The fiscal deficit has climbed by $2.6 billion above forecast to $37.34 billion. Up to December the deficit was ahead of target by $5.8 billion at $25 billion.
Inflows from Bauxite Levy and grants continue to underperform with a shortfall of $5.2 billion to January.
Government capital spend jumps $3.7b
Peter Phillips – Minister of Finance
Tax revenues continue to be on a positive path, with $6.6 billion over budget but grants are below by $3.1 billion resulting in revenues surplus of $2.5 billion. Government over spent on wages in the tune of $2.3 billion taking the total spend to $126.6 billion but interest cost continues to be lower than forecast by almost $5 billion at $91 billion. Spending on other expenses was below forecast by $3 billion. The overall deficit was in line with forecast, at $14.7 billion and the primary surplus was nearly a billion more than planned at $66 billion.
GOJ rakes in taxes hikes capital spend
strong>Grants expected by government was off by $3 billion to October this year but a $6.7 billion jump in tax collection more than made up for shortfall and helped deliver a budget beating performance by $3 billion.
The positives on the revenue front helped to create a smaller deficit than planned by $14 million, an improvement of 44 percent.
With the fiscal year unwinding and the revenue gains, plus cost reduction elsewhere, the Government cut the under spending on the capital front from $6.5 billion at the end of September to $3.5 billion at the end of October. Interest savings keeps on climbing and now stands at $4.6 billion up from $3.4 billion at the end of September and could well end up around $10 billion by March next year. Wages that was underspent by $3.9 billion is down to just $1.6 billion below budget.
At the end of October the fiscal was deficit was $18 billion and the primary surplus $53.77 billion versus $44.3 billion planned.
GOJ rakes in $5b more tax revenues
Government of Jamaica raked in 2.6 percent more tax revenues amounting to $4.9 billion over the $190 billion budgeted to reach $195 billion. Grants fell $3 billion short of budget of $6 billion, and non tax revenues by $800 million resulting in nearly half a billion excess revenue over budget, for the nine months to September.
At the end of the period the fiscal deficit projected, was cut in half, with a deficit of $14 billion. The primary surplus measured in at $51 billion some $11 billion better than planned.
The improved revenues flows came mainly from corporate profit tax of $1.9 billion, SCT on local goods $1 billion, tax on interest $2.6 billion, GCT and SCT on imports of $2 billion. PAYE was off by $474 million, telephone tax $400 million, custom duty $800 million and bauxite levy $500 million.
On the expenditure side, recurrent payments are down by $7.3 billion fueled mainly by $3.4 billion reduction in interest payments and $3.9 million in wages. Capital expenditure is under spent by $6.5 billion.
