BY ALEX DADAMU
The government fiscal position in the month of June recorded a widening deficit of $387 million from the $110 million deficit in May.
This was according to the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI) June, 2021 Monthly Economic Bulletin released this week.
The Bulletin reported that this outcome mirrored higher total expenditure which more than doubled to $666 million from $302 million despite the increase in revenue to $278 million from $191 million.
Meanwhile, the government’s debt stock slightly reduced by 0.7% to $1,609 million in June.
“The increase in revenue stemmed from all broad revenue categories of tax, non-tax and grants. Tax revenue rose by 23% to $225 million, reflecting higher collections on company taxes and GST.
“Similarly, non-tax revenue grew to $20 million from $8 million, largely driven by proceeds from fishing licenses and administrative fees. On grants, a total of $33 million is received during the month. The surge in expenditure reflected increases in both recurrent expense and capital spending,” The Bulletin stated.
It further revealed that recurrent expenses went up to $488 million from $282 million in the preceding month, attributing to increases in payroll, purchase of goods and services and `benefits and transfers` payments.
“Likewise, capital outlays expanded to $178 million from $20 million attributable to fixed assets and non-produced assets spending.
“The slight reduction in overall debt stock was mainly from external debt servicing.
“The external debt fell marginally by 1.1% to $1,155 million while the domestic debt stock rose slightly by 0.2% to $454 million.
“Debt servicing in June was $12 million of which $5 million on principal repayments and $7 million on interest payments,” The Monthly Economic Bulletin said.
