Gov't reports revenue shortfall for fiscal year which ended in March
Published:Tuesday | April 30, 2024 | 5:38 PM
The ministry of finance has released information showing that government revenues underperformed for the financial year which ended in March, a development which has implications for the budget for the current fiscal year.
The ministry said the Government has commenced an assessment of the options to ensure prudent fiscal operations and the attainment of legislated targets.
Government revenues for 2023/24 were $97.5 billion or 11.8 per cent ahead of the prior fiscal year, but still less than budgeted by $22.4 billion.
Meanwhile, tax revenues for 2023/24 were 10.5 per cent or $78 billion ahead of the previous fiscal year, but $24.8 billion less than budgeted.
The ministry said the revenue underperformance against the budget for the full year 2023/24 was primarily due to the revenue outturn for the month of March 2024.
Total revenues for March 2024 were $29.3 billion or 18 per cent less than budgeted, while tax revenues were $28 billion or 20 per cent less than budgeted.
The finance ministry said the main contributor to the shortfall was corporate income tax, which was $14.3 billion lower than programmed for the fiscal year. It said several entities and individuals who filed, did not make the indicated tax payments within the required timeline and the Government will be pursing payment related to these returns via its comprehensive compliance systems.
Changes to the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) also resulted in lower taxes being declared by a number of financial institutions. The impact of the changes to the accounting standards is being closely examined by Tax Administration Jamaica, the ministry said.
It noted that although expenditure was below programmed levels by $14.4 billion, it was not enough to outweigh the revenue shortfall, resulting in a fiscal surplus of only $1.1 billion or 0.04 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), instead of the budgeted fiscal balance of $9.1 billion or 0.3 per cent of GDP.
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