National

Govt. Revenue and Expenditure Up

NASSAU, BAHAMAS – The era of fiscal mismanagement has come to an end, according to Prime Minister Philip Davis who made the statement during his mid-year budget communication in Parliament, Wednesday.

Published

1 year ago

February 22, 2023

Berthony McDermott

The prime minister also reporting an increase in government revenue, an uptick in expenditure and rise in value added tax revenue.

According to the prime minister, for the first six months of the fiscal year, revenue collections saw a $111.5 million increase

Davis explains revenue collections exceeded projections by $79.4 million.

Davis also telling Parliament, improved revenue collections resulted in improved cash flows which he explains reduces the need for short-term borrowing.

A further breakdown revealing tax revenue collection jumped by $123.8m to $1.1b along with a $23.7m increase in value-added tax collection.

As for expenditure for the first six months, that also shot up by $119.3 million to an estimated $1.5 billion or 45.6 percent of the annual budget target.

The reason behind the rise is increased compensation for employees and spending on education…

The government also seeing a debt increase by $236.2m to $11.36b. That equates to 86.9 percent of the country’s gross domestic product, but according to PM Davis, it’s still a big decrease.

There is also $90.7m in unpaid bills.

These include $44.3m to state-owned enterprises, $30.7m to Water and Sewerage Corporation and $138m to the Ministry of Tourism.

Despite what the prime minister is describing as a good forecast, he says his government will remain prudent and vigilant.