Revenue dip . . . But Govt spending to jump to $3.87 billion

Article by GERALYN EDWARD

The challenges confronting the just re-elected Freundel Stuart administration are already showing up in the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure laid in Parliament yesterday.
Government is projecting that total revenue coming into state coffers for the 2013-2014 financial year will fall to $2.59 billion from the $2.62 billion approved for 2012 -2013.
The administration estimates that it will raise $1.2 billion from value added tax receipts, $776.70 million from taxes on income and profits, $157.59 million from property taxes and $212 million from international trade.
Moreover, after four years of intense efforts to tighten Government spending and reduce the fiscal deficit through the Medium Term Fiscal Strategy (MTFS), the Ministry of Finance is revealing that Government spending is set to jump by 6.2 per cent to $3.87 billion.
Barbados’ fiscal deficit should be $496.7 million or 5.3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the coming financial year that starts on April 1, the document outlined.