The government's revenue and grants have increased by 10.2 percent as of 26 March, according to the Ministry of Finance and Planning.
According to the Weekly Fiscal Development Report released by the ministry, the government received USD 690 million by 26 March while USD 620 million was received during the same period last year.
While government revenue increased overall, government expenditure decreased by 8.6 percent during this period.
The statistics further showed that tax revenue dominates the revenue generated so far this year, accounting for USD 560 million, which is 81 percent of total revenue.
The government received USD 210 million as TGST this year, up 23.9 percent from the USD 180 million received last year. Among taxes, Tourism Goods and Services Tax (TGST) accounted for the largest percentage, with TGST revenue increasing the most during the last week. Other revenue increases included revenue collected as non-resident withholding tax, amounting to USD 33.5 million, up 59 percent compared to the USD 21 million generated in the same period last year.
Non-tax revenue from resort land rentals increased by 14.7 percent to USD 21.6 million. Meanwhile, total foreign exchange earnings exceeded USD 300 million, indicating a strengthened economy.
By 26 March, total government spending stood at USD 540 million, with the largest spending on salaries, allowances and pensions. This amounted to USD 210 million. In addition, recurrent expenditure on subsidies increased by 8.8 percent to USD 57.8 million compared to the same period last year, while total aid and subsidies reached USD 170 million.
According to statistics, capital expenditure on development projects also increased during the period. Expenditure on land reclamation and construction projects increased by 137.5 percent to USD 28.7 million over the same period last year. More than USD 60.5 million has been spent on Public Sector Investment Programme (PSIP) projects.
According to the report, a total of USD 33.8 million has been deposited in the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF) to ensure the financial security of the state. This includes USD 6.2 million deposited last week. The ministry expects the government's financial situation to improve in the future due to increased revenue and efforts to reduce expenditure.