And it must perform because in a year that saw a contraction in economic growth – the first one in over a decade – sales tax collections decreased sharply. The Prime Minister outlined some of the indicators of a year of negative growth.
Hon. Dean Barrow,
"The impact of the recession was very much pronounced on government's revenue collections. Total revenue is projected at $678.8 million or 10.3% below budget as both recurrent and capital revenue under perform. The projected decline in revenue to $674.6 million is 10.2% below the approved budget and it is attributable to shortfalls in both tax revenue and non tax revenue. Tax receipts are projected at $594.9 million or 11.2% below budget. The taxes on goods and services are projected at $217.5 million or 16.8% below budget. And the single largest contributor to this underperformance is the expected decline of 19.3% in general sales tax receipt."
