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Govt. adjusts 2008 inflation rate upwards

Oct 29, 2008 News

The inflation projection for 2008 has been revised from 6.8 percent to 8.1 percent as a result of increased food prices globally.
This is according to the mid-year financial report, which was handed over to the National Assembly on Monday.
The Report cited several initiatives by the Administration to intervene and cushion the effects of these price increases.
The total revenue in 2008 was projected at $81.6B, as against the $80.4B realised in 2007.
At the end of June 2008, revenue collection totalled $42.5B, compared with $40.5B collected last year.
The outturn in the first half of 2008 was on account of strong performances in certain categories of both tax and non-tax revenue, which offset revenue foregone in other categories.  Customs and trade taxes were programmed to decline to $6.7B, from the $8.2B collected in 2007.
Consistent with this projection, Customs and trade tax collections for the period January to June 2008 amounted to $3.1B, as compared to $4.3B in 2007. Underlying these collections in 2008, import duties totalled $2.7B, a 6.6 percent increase over the $2.6B collected in 2007.
Value-added and excise taxes were programmed to collect $41.4B in 2008, up from $36.7B collected in 2007, reflecting the fact that this year would have represented the first full year of collection for the value-added tax.
Actual collections in the first half of the year amounted to $17.8B compared with the $17.1B collected last year. These collections comprised a marginal increase in value-added tax collections — $11B from $10.2B, and excise tax collections declining to $6.7B from $7B.
These collections also represent a $2B decline in excise tax on petroleum products, from $3.9B to $1.9B, reflecting the reduction in the tax rate.
This was partially offset by stronger collections on other imports, with motor vehicle imports in particular recording a strong increase.
Over the six-month period, Guyana’s total stock of external debt increased by US$55M, from US$718.8M at the end of 2007 to US$773.8M as at the end of June 2008, reflecting increased disbursements from both multilateral and bilateral sources.
Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh stated in the report that the first half of 2008 witnessed further expansion in real output, despite the pressure exerted from the global fuel and food crises and the turbulence being experienced in the financial markets.
This growth is expected to be sustained in the second half as a result of improved performances in a number of sectors of the domestic economy.
Subject to the risks presented by the unpredictable external environment, Dr Singh stated in the report, the current domestic situation suggests a cautiously optimistic outlook for the reminder of the year.

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