By Lavern Clarke, Acting News Editor THE GOVERNMENT of Jamaica has earned $1.51 billion from the new import tax imposed in May, surpassing its own expectations of what the cess/user fee would yield within the period, according to figures supplied the Ministry of Finance.
The Ministry had projected earnings of $1.2 billion up to August. The realised earnings are just under 26 per cent above target.
The Ministry released the figures to counter information from its own agency, Jamaica Customs, which previously told The Gleaner that the cess had earned the treasury $527 million over the same period.
DISPARITY EXPLAINED
Asked to explain the disparity in the two figures, spokesman, Cordell Braham, said the fiscal unit in the Finance Ministry had a more comprehensive picture of revenue flows, and that the latter figure was correct.
The import fee was introduced this year as one of several revenue earners for Government, and is projected to raise $3.4 billion by March 2004.
The Ministry introduced new taxes and cut spending as part of strategies to contain a near eight per cent budget deficit. Budget figures so far indicate that while spending is $314 million below expectations up to August, the expected earnings from taxes are $2 billion below target, leaving the Government with a larger deficit than anticipated.
Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies had budgeted for a deficit of $4.8 billion to August, but the actual outturn is $6.5 billion.
