NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Government revenue at the mid-point of the fiscal year 2022/2023 has exceeded revenue projections by close to $80 million, according to Prime Minister Philip Davis, KC.
Davis, while delivering a mid-year review of the government’s fiscal performance, said that the country is “better now than it was 17 months ago.”
“I have a simple message for the Bahamian people,” he said.
“Our policies are working. We are heading in the right direction. We are finally on the right path forward. And even though there is still so much more yet to do, life in The Bahamas is better now than it was 17 months ago.”
Davis said that based on current trends and advance bookings, as last year’s momentum carries over into this year, it is predicted that total visitor arrivals will exceed last year’s seven million visitor arrivals by at least 20 percent.
“This outlook is being supported by advance booking data, market intelligence, and strategic marketing in major source markets. On the whole, while the external economic environment still remains favorable, going forward it is clear that we will need to remain vigilant and prudent,” said Davis.
The Prime Minister noted that in the first six months of the fiscal year revenue exceeded projections by $79.4 million. Additionally, the Department of Social Services identified $8 million of unused balances on its accounts at the Bank of The Bahamas and Kanoo. These amounts he noted were for previous years so they had to be transferred to the Consolidated Fund and accounted for as revenue.
“In keeping with our conservative approach to managing our fiscal affairs we have only increased our revenue projections for the entire fiscal year by $53 million which includes the $8 million returned by Bank of The Bahamas and Kanoo. The net increase is $45 million which is only 56 percent of the excess revenue received by the Government,” said Davis.
The Prime Minister noted that for the first six months of the year, total revenue collections are estimated at $1.2 billion, which represents a $111.5 million increase over the same period of the prior year.
“To date, revenue collections account for 44.5 percent of the annual budget target. This alone is indicative of the positive impact of the reforms implemented by this administration. When we examine the first six months of FY2021/22, 43.4 percent of total revenue was collected during this period and only 35.3 percent of revenue was collected in the first half of FY2020/21. Further, when we look at the last “normal” fiscal year of 2018/19, only 41.7 percent of revenue was collected during the first six months,” said Davis.
According to Prime Minister Philip Davis, tax revenue collection improved by $123.8 million and stood at $1.1 billion for the first six months of the fiscal year representing 44 percent of the budget target. He further noted that Value-Added Tax (VAT), which accounts for 54.8 percent of tax revenues, totaled $600.2 million and grew by $23.7 million, relative to the same period in the previous year, equating to 42.5 percent of the annual budget target.
Loading ...
