The Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has continued its solid performance from 2013, surpassing its January 2014 target by $31.6 million.
A total of $167.3 million was collected during the period. The amount is $23.6 million over January 2013 collections.
Chief executive, Jitoko Tikolevu, said: “The $31.6 million variance recorded in January was about double than that seen over the past three years.
“The collections reflect sound economic climate with the 2014 GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of three per cent.
“Our solid performance in the last two years can be attributed to improved debt collection along with continued compliance activities.
“More importantly, the government’s expansionary fiscal policy stance is generating further economic activities that have translated into revenue collection.”
Mr Tikolevu said the uncollected debts and outstanding VAT refunds performance have improved slightly.
“The tax arrears level has decreased slightly, which is mainly attributed to continued effective debt collection. Arrears have fallen by over 49% from January 2013,” he said.
Driver of growth
Mr Tikolevu said revenue growth for January collections was strongly driven by the positive collections in PAYE, Domestic VAT, Government VAT and Capital Gains Tax.
“Overall, tax collection was buoyant. Indirect taxes accounted for most of the revenue collected. The January collection is about eight per cent of the 2014 target of $2.039 billion,” he said.
“The January collection is about 2% of the annual projected GDP. The buoyancy indicates that revenue is growing faster than the GDP growth.”
VAT accounted for 45 per cent of January collection. Domestic VAT recorded an exorbitant growth rate of 40.5 per cent during the month.
“The increase in consumption and growth in investment, as reported by the RBF, supports the notion of increased economic activity in 2014 which should also contribute positively to revenue collections,” Mr Tikolevu said.
“We are certainly seeing signs of improved self-compliance by taxpayers. “It’s positive and showing a change in culture amongst our taxpayers.
“However, we will ensure that strict measures are taken to ensure that fraudulent taxpayers are dealt with in accordance with the law.” — Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority