The Economic Research and Policy Unit in the Ministry of Finance has released a summary of the fiscal operations of the Central Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the period ending March 31, 2018.
The objective of the report is to present the public with a brief summary of the fiscal operations of the Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ fiscal operations, for the quarter ended March 31.
Preliminary data indicates that the Central Government’s fiscal operations as at March 31, 2018 weakened, when compared to the same period in 2017.
Current Revenue decreased by 11.2 percent to $114.53 million, while Current Expenditure increased by 3.5 percent to $130.75 million.
Consequently, the Current Account recorded a deficit of $16.22 million. During the period under review, the Overall Balance contracted, moving from a surplus of $2.55 million in 2017 to a deficit of $15.88 million in 2018.
In relation to revenue, receipts from Taxes on Income and Profits fell by 17.9 percent to $23.79 million, mainly due to lower collections from Taxes on Individuals and Corporation Taxes which fell by 15.9 percent and 43.4 percent respectively. Lower collections from Individuals and Corporation Taxes mostly reflect untimely recording of tax receipts for the period. On the contrary, revenue from Non-Resident (Withholding) Tax went up 6.9 percent when compared to 2017.
Revenue from Taxes on Property declined by 59.6 percent to $3.66 million. The decrease in collection resulted from lower receipts from Alien Land Holding Licence which fell by 86.5 percent and Stamp Duty on Property which contracted by 59.9 percent, both on account of lower receipts from the sale of lands during the quarter. Contrastingly, tax collections from Immovable Property rose by 32.9 percent.
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