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2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review
DOMESTIC ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS
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9
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
$1,284.1m, from taxes on international trade
and transactions, largely driven by higher
yields from the import duty and the customs
service charge, associated with the increased
economic activity. Receipts from taxes on
income and profits grew by 2.8 per cent
($24.1m), buoyed by higher yields from the
corporation tax (3.8 per cent), which more
than offset a decline in proceeds from the
personal income tax (2.0 per cent). On a
disaggregated basis, all countries, except
Anguilla, recorded growth in tax revenue
ranging from 0.8 per cent in
St Vincent and the Grenadines to 22.6 per cent
in Dominica.
Current expenditure expanded by 7.2 per cent
to $4,684.9 (22.7 per cent of GDP), compared
with growth of 5.2 per cent to $4,370.3m
(22.9 per cent of GDP) in the prior year.
Despite growth in current spending, the total
remained within the Monetary Council’s
target range of 22 to 26 per cent of GDP. The
upward movement in current outlays was
associated with higher spending on all sub-
categories of expenditure, particularly goods
and services and personal emoluments.
Outlays on goods and services increased by
18.5 per cent ($166.9m), mainly driven by
developments in three countries, where that
category of expenditure rose by $72.4m
(Saint Lucia), $67.9m (St Kitts and Nevis) and
$36.3m (Dominica). Spending on personal
emoluments rose by 5.8 per cent ($108.4m)
driven by higher outlays in seven of the eight
countries, i.e. Antigua and Barbuda ($90.6m),
St Kitts and Nevis ($13.8m), Grenada
($7.9m), St Vincent and the Grenadines
($7.2m), Anguilla ($2.1m), Saint Lucia
($4.0m), and Montserrat ($1.0m). By
contrast, payments towards personal
emoluments fell by 11.2 per cent ($20.1m) in
Dominica.
Spending on transfers and subsidies rose by
2.8 per cent ($32.0m), influenced largely by
increases in subventions and contributions to
statutory corporations and other institutions by
the governments of Anguilla, Dominica,
Grenada, Montserrat, St Kitts and Nevis,
Saint Lucia and St Vincent and the
Grenadines. The overall increase in spending
on transfers and subsidies was moderated by a
decline in outlays in Antigua and Barbuda as
the government scaled back on transfers to
state owned enterprises.
Larger interest payments ($7.5m) were
attributable to increases in the stock of
outstanding public debt, as governments
continued to borrow to finance their
operations. Higher allocations towards