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Govt collects $600K less in FY05
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Posted on Nov 16 2005
The CNMI government generated a total of $213.2 million revenue in fiscal year 2005—about $600,000 less than the preceding fiscal year.
Data from the Department of Finance showed that in FY 2005 ending on Sept. 30 this year, general appropriation totaled $213,174,000. In FY 2004, the figure was at $213,783,000.
In terms of total taxes and fees, the government collected only $204 million. Last fiscal year, this amount was up at $210 million.
The government got $9.2 million in additional revenues in the form of fund transfers from other public agencies in FY 2005.
Total taxes collected in FY 2005 amounted to $168 million—$8 million less than the figure for FY 2004, which was at $176 million.
Meantime, total fees in FY 2005 amounted to $36 million, which is $1 million more than in FY 2004.
In an interview, Finance Secretary Fermin M. Atalig said the decline in revenues in FY 2005 was primarily caused by the downsizing in the garment industry.
The government collected only $26 million in garment user fees in FY 2005, $4 million less than the annual average collection.
This fee represents 3.7 percent of the total gross sales of the industry.
Finance said that from October 2004 to September 2005, user fee collection reached $25.968 million. This represents a 14-percent decrease from the FY 2004 collection, which totaled $30.1 million.
Garment revenues began to dramatically plummet this year due to the worldwide lifting of trade quotas, resulting in the closure of four local garment factories—Mariana Fashions, Sako Corp., La Mode and Neo Fashion—and downsizing of operations in others. Two more factories are believed to be closing down by end of this year. There are about 22 factories on island.
