| The more than projected revenue haul for 2009 by the Guyana Revenue Authority does not accurately illustrate resilience and increased spending power of the populace, says Chartered Accountant Christopher Ram.He added that the money was derived primarily from the excise tax on fuel.According to Ram, the fact that the returns on the Value Added Tax (VAT) reduced, though minimally, suggests that the distribution sector did not fare too well in 2009 in the face of the Global Financial Crisis.This leaves many to wonder if the President’s suggestion that the economy had a two per cent growth was accurate, said Ram.This, he said, was even more questionable given the fact that he did not support his assertion with any figures.According to Ram, when the GRA Commissioner General, Khurshid Sattaur,Wholesale Jerseys Free Shipping, made his announcement he did not disaggregate his figures. “That would have been very instructive.”Ram explained to this newspaper that the bulk of the increase “appears to have come from increases in excise taxes resulting from the government reinstituting taxes on petroleum as a result of lower world prices.”This,cheap jerseys, however, is nothing strange in that if the prices on the world market are high then the tax is removed or reduced and if it is low the tax is reinstated.Ram said that if one were to check the half year figures for 2009 there is a $3.7B which was raked as a result of extra excise tax.He explained that the Value Added Tax is an “extremely important barometer of the performance of the economy.”Its decrease, according to Ram, lends further doubt to the President’s suggestion of the two per cent growth in the economy.Ram explained that a great majority of businesses complained bitterly as it relates to sales in the latter half of the year, “and it was only the latter days of the holidays that they saw people at the turnstiles.”Ram posited that the notion of increased taxes and whether it was of greater efficiency is questionable.The Bank of Guyana midyear report for 2009 stated that real economic growth slowed to -1.4 per cent during the first half of 2009,Cheap NFL Jerseys Online, after achieving a 3.8 percent growth in the corresponding period of the previous year.The outturn was on account of the decline in the agriculture and mining and quarrying sectors. Growth was registered in the engineering and construction and services sectors while there was stable performance from the manufacturing sector.It also reported that inflation also fell sharply to 1.3 percent due to lower food and fuel prices.The overall balance of payments recorded a surplus of US$57.3 million on account of a contraction in the current account deficit which more than offset the decline in inflows on the capital account.This was due to lower imports from declining fuel and commodity prices while the latter was due to a decrease in official grants and foreign direct investment.The overall surplus contributed to the accumulation of foreign assets by the Bank of Guyana, which provided an import cover of 3.5 months.All segments of the foreign exchange market,cheap jerseys online, except for the non-bank cambios,Cheap NFL Jerseys, experienced lower levels of transactions on account of declining commodity prices and remittances. Non-bank cambios’ transactions increased to US$60.8 million as a result of their higher buying and lower selling rates for foreign currency notes.The exchange rate remained relatively stable, appreciating by 0.37 percent.The overall financial operations of the public sector, computed on a cash basis,NFL Jerseys China, improved on account of a sharp decline in the overall deficit of the Non-Financial Public Enterprises (NFPEs). The central government, according to the Bank of Guyana, recorded a slightly higher surplus despite a significant drop in capital receipts which was offset by an increase in current receipts and lower capital expenditure.The improvement in the overall position of the NFPEs resulted from lower current and capital expenditure which reflected the completion of capital programmes undertaken by Guyana SugarCorporation (GUYSUCO) and Guyana Power and Light (GPL).The stock of domestic and external public debt increased by 14.9 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively from end-June 2008 level with the former attributed to an increase in the issuance of treasury bills to sterilise excess liquidity, while the latter is due to disbursements from the IDB and bilateral credit delivered under the Petrocaribe Initiative.Both domestic and external debt services were lower on account of lower principal payments.Monetary aggregates reflected the impact of the global financial crisis and lower commodity prices. |
