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2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
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38
Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
Current revenue rose by 2.9 per cent ($23.0m)
to $815.3 in 2018, an improvement from the
performance observed in 2017, however, still
fell short of budget expectations by
7.0 per cent. As a percentage of GDP, current
revenue fell to 18.3 per cent from
19.4 per cent in 2017. Tax revenue, which
accounted for 83.4 per cent of current
revenue, experienced the highest intake since
2008. The outturn was influenced by
improvements in tax administration,
particularly the auditing of more businesses,
the hiring of specialized staff and investments
in the tax collection IT system. As a result,
tax revenue rose by 5.9 per cent ($37.9) to
$679.7m in 2018 from $641.8m in 2017.
However, as a percentage of GDP, tax
revenue declined to 15.2 per cent, from
15.7 per cent in 2017, reflecting a lack of tax
buoyancy. There were increases in all the
broad tax categories, with the most prominent
being receipts from taxes on domestic goods
and services. Collections from taxes on
domestic goods and services rose by
10.4 per cent to $329.5m, as the major
component, the Antigua and Barbuda Sales
Tax (ABST), performed the best it has since
its introduction in 2007. Receipts from the
ABST advanced by 17.5 per cent ($41.4m) to
$278.4m from $236.9m in 2017. In contrast,
stamp duties fell by $8.8m to $41.2m due to
the granting of waivers. Receipts on taxes on
international trade and transactions grew by
0.6 per cent ($1.4m) to $250.6m as a result of
higher receipts from import duty ($7.1m) and
the revenue recovery charge ($7.4m).
Meanwhile, revenue collection of the
consumption tax fell by 18.2 per cent
($11.7m) associated with higher global oil
prices, which eroded the margins received by
the central government. Inflows of revenue
from taxes levied on income and profits rose
by 5.8 per cent ($4.3) to $78.4 driven by
greater inflows of corporate tax, as income
tax was repealed on 1
st
July 2016. Receipts
from property taxes rose to $21.2m from
$20.1m in 2017. Non-tax revenue fell by
9.9 per cent to $135.6m, notwithstanding the
10.0 per cent ($5.4m) increase in receipts
from the Citizenship by Investment
Programme (CIP). The decline in non-tax
revenue reflected a contraction in the
traditional income streams such as fees and
charges on a wide variety of public services.
On the capital account, grants amounted to
$15.7m, a higher intake than that of 2017,
which was reported at $2.1m. However, this
was much lower than the budget forecast of
$86.6m, which was based on the expectation
of a quicker drawn down of the UK-CIF grant
for road infrastructure development. On the