BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, Feb.21.2018 – WHILE delivering his 2018 appropriation speech, Nevis’ Premier, Mark Brantley revealed that tax revenues collected in 2017 fell marginally when compared with the previous year.
Giving a detailed breakdown of figures, Brantley explained that compared to revenue collections for the fiscal year 2016, monies collected during 2017 fell by 2.99 percent.
Additionally, he revealed that tax revenues, which is a good measure of economic activity, fell by 2.58 percent when compared to the previous fiscal year.
“The slowdown of economic activity for the fiscal year 2017, especially as it relates to the Citizenship by Investment Program (CBI), was the most significant contributing factor,” Brantley stated.
According to the Premier, during the last fiscal year, the revenues collected amounted to $128.92 million which, coupled with the amount of $58.99 million received through federal grants and development aid funding, resulted in an overall revenue of $187.91 million for 2017.
Further, Brantley told the House that the tax revenue accounted for a total of 75 percent of current revenue, whilst non-tax revenue accounted for the remaining 25 percent.
“The main component of revenue collected was the Value Added Tax (VAT), which accounted for 25.30 percent of total revenue. Other notable contributors included Financial Services – 10.29 percent, Import Duties – 9.11 percent, Social Security Levy – 7.47 percent and Stamp Duties on Property – 6.32 percent.
Nevis saw an increase in total expenditure for the fiscal year 2017, which amounted to $204.04 million, representing a 18.93 percent increase compared to $171.56 million in expenditure for fiscal year 2016.
Recurrent expenditure stood at $140.56 million, representing a 3.92 percent increase when compared to the results of 2016.
Brantley explained that major contributing components were personal emoluments ($78.55 million), the purchase of goods and services ($31.24 million) and debt servicing (both principal and interest repayment amounted to $24.43 million).
Meanwhile, Capital Expenditure for 2017 amounted to $63.47 million, a significant increase of 74.86 percent over $36.30 million spent in 2016.
“This level of expenditure was necessary as the government undertook a number of projects in its quest to complete its 5-year commitment to the Nevisian public. A number of these projects were funded through external sources such as Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), the Sugar Industry Diversification Fund (SIDF) and the Social Security Board.”
According to Brantley, a component of good governance is an efficient, fair and effective system for revenue collection.
He added that over the years, they have rolled out a number of revenue collection initiatives which have allowed adequate access to information regarding the payment of taxes.
