by Linda Straker
- Current Revenue for August 2024 was $134.2 million — $32.4 million more than target
- Total Current Expenditure for August was $74.9 million — $3.4 million less than target
- Customs and Excise revenue was EC$44.4 million — EC$2.7 million more than projection
The waiving of Value Added Tax (VAT), Common External Tariff (CET), Customs Service Charges, and fiscal incentives announced to assist people affected by the passage of Hurricane Beryl on 1 July 2024, did not negatively impact Government’s revenue for August 2024.
“Current Revenue for August 2024 was $134.2 million which was $32.4 million more than the 2024 target and $16.6 million more than the collections for August 2023,” said the August 2024 fiscal report which was recently published on the Ministry of Finance website.
“Total Current Expenditure, excluding total Principal Repayments for the month of August was $74.9 million which was $3.4 million less than the $78.3 million targeted,” said the report which points out that Capital Expenditure in August 2024 was $26.2 million which is well below the $40.6 million targeted for August 2024.
The passage of Hurricane Beryl did not affect the major ports of entry on the mainland despite the hurricane devastating the northern part of the island. As a result, revenue from Customs and Excise was EC$44.4 million, which is EC$2.7 million more than the EC$41.7 million projection.
There was a slight reduction in the amount earned by the Inland Revenue Department (IRD). According to the fiscal report, Government projected it would earn EC$31.8 million from the IRD, but instead earned EC$31.7 million. A breakdown for the period covering January to August shows that taxes on Income and Profit were EC$117.6 million; Taxes on Property were EC$32.4 million; taxes on Goods and Services EC$132.7 million and taxes on International Transactions EC$304.7 million, which made the total tax revenue EC$587.4 million.
The revenue from Non-Tax Revenues EC$534.4 million and the biggest contributor to that category is the Citizenship by Investment (CBI) programme. The revenue from the CBI was EC$373.2 million while other non-tax revenue from other exceptional sources totalled EC$118.7 million. Exceptional Revenue is defined as revenue that is not part of the regular collections but has a significant impact on the relevant period.
The Ministry of Finance projected the total for both tax and non-taxed revenue will reach EC$859.9 million but according to the fiscal report, the overall for both categories were EC$1,121.8 million or EC$261.9 million more than projected.
