The tax department reported, in its monthly overview, that both the tax and premium revenues for August exceeded budgeted amounts. Tax revenue reached 5.2 million florins (NAf), exceeding the budgeted sum of 95.1 million florins with a total of 99.3 million florins, mainly due to higher revenue from Property Tax (OZB) (+4.6 million florins) and Sales Tax (+4.3 million florins). Other taxes, such as income tax (-/- 2.7 million florins) and salary tax (-/- 1.5 million florins), were slightly below budget.
In the case of social benefits, the revenue was 7.2 million florins higher than the budget (68.9 million compared to 61.7 million florins). Basic insurance premiums (+2,8 million florins) and AOV/AWW pensions (+3,1 million florins) were the main factors contributing to this positive result. With the implementation of changes in the collection policy of the Tax Department (focusing on the collection of outstanding fees) at the beginning of this year, a notable improvement in results was seen. As of August, there was an additional 80.9 million florins of tax revenue and social benefits compared to the budgeted amount. This surplus was completely generated after the introduction of the change in management.
In July, revenues were slightly higher than budgeted, mainly due to income tax refunds and social premiums paid in July. However, by August, the trend of budget surpluses had recovered. In August, the Customs reported an increase in the volume of operations for Value Added Tax (VAT) due to imports for this year, with 13.6 million florins, and SBAB also contributed to this increase in VAT revenue with its campaign,
Finally, it is worth mentioning that the rental income in August, for the second consecutive month, exceeded the budgeted amount (2.0 million versus 1.9 million florins). This higher revenue is the result of Domain Management’s efforts to eliminate lease billing delays and the collection of outstanding lease amounts in collaboration with the Department of Taxation. curacaochronicle.com
