Taxes take up bulk of ’03 revenue projections

The Commonwealth government expects to get a hefty 81.42 percent of its projected $216.68 million revenue for Fiscal Year 2003 from taxes, with 62.81 percent of the total taxes collected to be derived from income taxes.

Department of Finance documents showed that the CNMI government expects to collect some $176.42 million in taxes in the next fiscal year, with fees, licenses and other revenue generating activities contributing just $33.54 million, or 15.48 percent of the total. This rounds off the total General Fund revenue at $209.97 million.

With an additional $6.7 million, or 3.1 percent, coming from fund transfers and local revenue from the deportation fund, total operating resources for the Commonwealth is estimated to amount to $216.68 million.

This is a 4.36-percent decline when compared to the government’s actual collections in Fiscal Year 2001, which was $226.56 million.

At the same time, with $2 million already reserved for the Public School System bond payment and another $3.87 million set aside to pay off a part of the $60-million Commonwealth Development Authority CIP financing bonds, the total general appropriation for the next fiscal year would only amount to $210.8 million.

These figures are dependent on four assumptions, though, according to acting Finance Secretary Frankie Villanueva. “These revenue figures assume that tourism revenue would return to Fiscal Year 2001 levels, that the garment industry remains at reduced Fiscal Year 2002 level, and that gaming machine licenses fees and jackpot tax collections continue at the current level. Fiscal Year 2003 figures could also be adjusted to Fiscal Year 2002 levels if this year’s level goes up and becomes higher than Fiscal Year 2001 levels.

Actual revenue in Fiscal Year 2001 amounted to $226.56 million. Prior estimates for this fiscal year placed the total operating resources at $199.23 million but Gov. Juan N. Babauta had said in a prior interview that this would have to be revised since latest estimates place the revenue to climb to a little over $200 million due to a small increase to the upswing in tourism activities.

Based on next fiscal year’s projections, income taxes are estimated to amount to $110.81 million, with nearly 50 percent of this coming from Business Gross Revenue Tax, which is anticipated to amount to $54.5 million. Wage and salary taxes are expected to add up to $32.95 million, while personal and corporate NMTIT taxes are projected at $20.85 million. Just a little over $2.5 million are expected from the gaming jackpot tax.

Excise taxes, which are usually derived from cigarettes, beer and other alcoholic beverages, luxury products, medicines, and cars, are projected to reach a total of $21.69 million—a little over 12 percent of the total tax receivables.

The projected $4.37 million from the liquid fuel tax and $1.43 million from the beverage container tax rounds up the total tax receivables for the next fiscal year.

Fees derived from licenses, charges for services, as well as other internal sources, are anticipated to reach $33.54 million, a little under the $34.38 million that was actually collected in Fiscal Year 2001.

These include revenue derived from amusement machine licenses, business licenses, hospital charges, alien physical examinations, penalties for delinquency taxes and lottery revenue.