The government is projecting a record-breaking $3 billion in tax collection for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, despite no significant alterations in tax policy. This prediction was announced yesterday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Prof Biman Prasad during the delivery of the 2024-25 National Budget, themed “An Economically Stable, Secure and Sustainable Fiji”.
Prof Prasad attributes this fiscal achievement to previous tax reforms. “We have seen significant growth in tax collections following last year’s reforms. The Fiji Revenue and Customs Service (FRCS) is poised to surpass the $3 billion mark in tax collections for the first time this year,” he said.
He further broke down the expected tax collections for the 2024-2025 budget: projected tax collections are approximated at $3.3 billion with non-tax revenue collections billed at $618 million. Direct taxes are estimated to establish $1.029 billion, and the tax office is expected to amass approximately $2.269 billion in indirect taxes.
The new budget predicts a net deficit of $635.5 million or 4.5% of the Gross Domestic Product, mainly expected to be borrowed domestically. The estimated total expenditure is $4.55 billion with a distribution of around 73:27 between operating spending and capital. “That is, 73% will be allocated towards operating spending and 27% set for capital,” Prof Prasad explained.