Durrant Pate/ Contributor

Government revenues in Jamaica for the 2021/2022 fiscal year are below projection.

For the period of April 2021 to March 2022, total revenues and grants amounted to J$716.90 billion, which is J$523.20 million less than projected. However, this is still 25 per cent above the comparative period in 2020/2021.

During the comparative period of 2020/2021 revenues totalled J$575.40 billion. Non-tax revenue, capital revenue and grants underperformed projections during the review period.

Non-tax revenue amounted to J$92.83 billion during the review period with capital revenue ending at J$908.40 million, while grants closed the period at J$7.66 billion. This is J$3.15 billion less than the budgeted amount.

Tax revenue of J$613.04 billion was reported, which was 1.1 per cent higher than the budgeted amount. Notably, bauxite levy amounted to J$2.46 billion, which is J$306.30 million more than the budgeted amount.

Expenditures

Total expenditure for the period April 2021 to March 2022 amounted to J$698.90 billion, which is J$12.88 billion less than the budgeted amount of J$711.77 billion. Recurrent expenditure, which totalled J$648.39 billion, accounted for 93 per cent of overall expenditures.

Under the recurrent expenditure categories for the review period, the category above the budgeted amount was interest. This totalled J$137.05 billion, 0.5 per cent above the budgeted amount of J$136.42 billion.

The categories below the budgeted amount included ‘Programmes’, which amounted to J$269.59 billion, which was J$8.07 billion or 2.9 per cent less than budgeted. Comparably, ‘Employee Contribution’ totalled J$19.07 billion, which was J$629.80 million below the budgeted amount of J$19.70 billion.

‘Wages and Salaries’ totalled J$222.68 billion, 0.5 per cent less than budgeted. Additionally, ‘Compensation of Employees’ totalled J$241.75 billion, which was 0.7 per cent below the budgeted amount.

The ‘Fiscal Surplus’ was J$18.01 billion, relative to a ‘Projected Surplus’ of J$5.66 billion. Additionally, the ‘Primary Surplus Balance’ for the period amounted to J$155.06 billion, relative to the ‘Budgeted Primary Surplus Balance’ of J$142.08 billion.