Gov’t sees almost 40% increase in tax revenues for January

Government revenue collections from taxes for January stood at $11.9 billion, representing a 39.9% increase from the same period last year, according to the February Monthly Economic Bulletin published by the Ministry of Finance.

The bulletin notes that central government’s current revenues totalled $12.4 billion in January, 2017, representing an increase of 42.3% compared with revenue in January, 2016. The growth was primarily fueled by an expansion in tax revenues due to higher arrears collection and greater compliance, especially among the self-employed.

Specifically tax revenue collections increased to $11.9 billion (with Value-Added Tax (VAT) contributing $3.7 billion of this revenue) compared with the $8.5 billion collected in January, 2016.

The bulletin credits the increase to greater