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2018 Annual Economic and Financial Review ST KITTS AND NEVIS
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Eastern Caribbean Central Bank
with
the $16.1m recorded in 2017. The
narrowing of the deficit was directly
attributable to a lower imbalance on the capital
and current accounts. Current revenue
amounted to $138.4m in 2018, approximately
7.4 per cent higher than total collections in
2017. The increase in current revenue
collections reflected favourable outcomes in
tax and non-tax revenue. Tax revenues rose
by 6.2 per cent, influenced by larger receipts
from taxes on domestic goods and services
(7.6 per cent) and international trade and
transactions (6.3 per cent)
.
An increase in
property tax collections by 19.7 per cent to
$3.9m, also buttressed tax revenue
collections. These increases were however,
constrained by lower taxes receipts from
income and profits which fell by 0.4 per cent.
Non-tax revenue rose by 11.0 per cent
($3.5m) to $35.8m. Grant receipts, in the
form of budgetary assistance from the Federal
Government, rose by 23.5 per cent to $37.1m
in 2018 from $30.1m in the previous year. In
contrast, capital grants decreased by 44.2 per
cent to $16.2m.
Current expenditure increased by 5.0 per cent
to $147.5m, compared with an increase of 4.0
per cent in 2017. The rise in current
expenditure was attributable to higher outlays
for most of the major expenditure categories;
goods and services (12.4 per cent), transfers
and subsidies (18.9 per cent) and interest
payments (3.0 per cent).
However, the
increase in current expenditure was moderated
by a decrease in personal emoluments and
wages (0.1 per cent). Capital expenditure fell
by 20.0 per cent to $50.8m, in contrast to an
increase of 82.5 per cent to $63.5m spent in
2017 based on the completion of a major
public sector project, the Mondo athletics
track, that year.
The total disbursed outstanding public
sector debt increased marginally by
1.2 per cent to $1,614.2m (57.5 per cent of
GDP) at the end of 2018, compared to an
increase of 3.1 per cent to $1,595.4m
(59.6 per cent of GDP) in 2017.
This
development largely reflected an expansion in
the outstanding debt of public corporations,
primarily influenced by a 31.6 per cent
increase in the outstanding debt to $413.3m.
Greater indebtedness of public corporations
coincided with investments to construct a new
cruise pier and a housing development project
by the National Housing Corporation.
The
increase in the outstanding debt of statutory
bodies was moderated by a reduction in
central government outstanding debt to
$1,200.9m, driven by decreases ($80.5m) in