Illustration of Budget report | Net deficit much lower than previous two years

Government Deficit Declines: What’s Behind the Lower Numbers?

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The Coalition Government concluded the 2023-2024 financial year with a net deficit of $443.6 million, significantly lower than the $639.1 million projected in the budget released in June 2023. According to the Ministry of Finance’s Fiscal Performance report for FY2023-2024, this deficit is also notably less than the deficits recorded in the previous two years.

The report indicated that the total revenue for the government in this financial year reached $3.6 billion, while total expenditures amounted to $4 billion. Government debt at the end of July 2024 was reported at $10.3 billion, reflecting a decrease as a percentage of GDP from 82.0% in July 2023 and 90.6% in July 2022.

Notably, total revenue for FY2023-2024 exceeded the revised forecast by $68.3 million, representing a 1.9% increase, largely due to stronger-than-expected collections from both tax and non-tax revenues. Compared to the previous financial year, total revenue increased by $896.1 million, or 32.6%.

Tax revenues specifically amounted to $3.1 billion, surpassing the revised forecast by $60.9 million (2.0%), and showed a remarkable increase of $811.8 million (35.5%) compared to FY2022-2023. This robust tax collection performance is attributed to changes in major taxes, including VAT, corporate tax, departure tax, fiscal and customs duties, and was also supported by the strong performance of critical economic sectors such as tourism and resource-based industries.

This positive financial trend indicates a growing economy and effective fiscal management by the government, which may bode well for future investments and public services. Overall, with these figures, there is cautious optimism for continued economic recovery and growth in the coming years.


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