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APNU AFC GOVT RECORDS $31.7 BILLION DEFICIT FOR 2016 April 19, 2017 www.guyanatimesgy.com

The Guyana Government recorded a fiscal deficit of $31.7 billion for the year 2016, approximately 4.4 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). This is according to the Finance Ministry’s End-of-Year outcome report, which was released on April 13.


The report noted that the deficit was smaller than the expected $38.4 billion, or 5.4 per cent of GDP, which had been projected during the presentation of the 2017 Budget. The report put this difference down to lower expenditures.

“The smaller-than-projected deficit was due to lower expenditures, particularly current expenditures, coupled with higher-than-projected revenues and grants.”
The report added that tax and non-tax revenue collections in 2016 were $177.3 billion. According to the report, this amounts to $2.5 billion, or 1.4 per cent, more than the 2017 Budget projects.
“Tax revenues rose to $151.7 billion in 2016. Total non-tax revenue increased to $25.5 billion, in line with projections at the time of the presentation of the 2017 Budget.”
The Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) was shown to have remitted $42.3 billion in 2016, which the report admitted was $274 million below projections of the 2017 Budget.
Already, the Government has introduced a number of new tax measures which it says would widen its tax base. Some of these measures, such as the imposition of Value Added Tax (VAT) on private tuition and on basic utility services over a stipulated threshold, have prompted street protests.

Expenditure
Meanwhile, total Central Government expenditure was shown to amount to $216.8 billion for 2016, $4.2 billion lower than projected at the time of the presentation of the 2017 Budget. There were a number of reasons for this.
“Total non-interest recurrent expenditure amounted to $163.4 billion in 2016, marginally less than the $166.7 billion projected at the time of the presentation of the 2017 Budget, due to lower-than-projected spending for Other Goods and Services and Transfer Payments,” the report stated.
“Other Goods and Services totalled $46.8 billion for 2016, slightly less than the $48.8 billion projected. Transfer Payments totalled $67.3 billion in 2016, marginally less than the anticipated $68.8 billion.”

Constitutional agencies
The report revealed $686.8 million as the unspent sums from constitutional agencies. One of the reasons the report attributed this to was several projects not being executed owing to “setbacks” in the tender process.
This comes after constitutional agencies received more than $7 billion in lump sums for the year 2016. At the time, the National Assembly had approved the allocations following contentions over the estimates, resulting in a number of proposals for funds being cut.
Employment costs, according to the Finance Ministry’s report, totalled $49.4 billion in 2016, exceeding the $49 billion that had been anticipated.
“Central Government capital expenditure amounted to $46.6 billion, slightly below the projected year-end position of $47.6 billion, due largely to continued slow implementation of our loan portfolio, which declined by 12 per cent.”


The data submitted in the End-of-Year outcome report represents an update on the data which had been read by Finance Minister Winston Jordan in the 2017 Budget presentation last year. When that budget was read, the data Jordan had quoted at the time only reflected projections since the budget was an early one.

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$31.5 bil deficit and nothing to show for it? Guyana gone fuh channa. Dem tiefman packin' away dem taxpayers' sweat, probably in a foreign bank. Aw gaad, weh you deh? Help dem peeple nah.

FM

At this pace, the deficit will balloon to $ 100 BILLION by 2020.

This is straight from Burnham's Playbook by his student Granger. Guyanese will be lining up for food like they are doing in Venezuela by 2020.

FM
Last edited by Former Member

You folks are something else! Plainly hypocrites as well as awful racists. The PPP government ran deficits ranging from 2 to 5 percent of GDP their entire history. Not one time ever did they balance the budget.Guyana budget history

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FM

D2 thanks for the post,

Where is YUGGI ?,

tha chap like to call posters names,looks like he and all the PPP-ites run under their bed.

The rag Guyana Times is useless in disseminating information.

Django
Last edited by Django

No developing country will run a balanced budget unless they have some windfall earnings.  Guyana will run deficits and as long as it's incurred for developmental purposes, that's fine.  It should be reined about or below 5%.

The PNC needs to be careful touting increased tax revenues as success as this is taking money out of the economy.  In the era of a stagnant economy, increased tax revenues are not a good indicator!

FM
Mr.T posted:

Typical PPP. They want to spend every cent  that there is in the central bank, just as Bouterse has done in Suriname and Madeiro in Venezuela.

Deficit spending with no development, this is the difference jackasses. When PPP ran deficits it was to finance development. Jackass PNC running deficit to finance their own salaries only. 

FM

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