Puerto Rico’s General Fund net revenues for March exceed projections
Net revenues collected into the government’s General Fund for the month of March totaled $1.1 billion, which Treasury Secretary Francisco Parés said exceeds by $83.3 million what was collected during the same month last year and by $101 million the projection established in the Fiscal Plan.
Cumulative collections as of March (July to March), for Fiscal 2022 were $510.1 million or 7% more than what was collected in the previous fiscal year.
On Jan. 27, 2022, the Financial Oversight and Management Board for Puerto Rico certified a new Revised Fiscal Plan, which included changes to the government’s economic growth and income projections.
“The projections for Fiscal 2022, presented in the previous Fiscal Plan of April 23, 2021 estimated the net income to the General Fund at $10.2 billion. However, the projections in the new Plan add $1.1 billion to the previously estimated base or 11%,” Parés said.
“Regarding collections in Fiscal 2021, the revised Fiscal Plan changes the growth projections, from a decrease of 8.8%, to a growth of 1.2%. In other words, the revised Fiscal Plan assumes an increase from the $11.2 billion collected in fiscal 2021 to $11.3 billion for fiscal 2022,” Parés said.
The main items reviewed in the new Fiscal Plan were revenue from Corporate Income Tax, with an increase of $328.7 million, Sales and Use Tax (SUT) collections, revised by $213 million and the income from individuals, whose revision represented an additional $176.2 million.
“It should be noted that none of the main income items represented a reduction in the revision of the projected income,” he said.
During the month of March, the tax line that presented the best performance was that of individuals, the Treasury Department confirmed.
Some $64 million more were collected when compared to March 2021, which represented a growth of 28.5%. Two components of this line item that have been reflecting significant growth during the fiscal year were withholdings for services rendered ($26.6 million more) and employer withholdings ($15.7 million more).
The growth is in line with wages presented quarterly by employers, which showed a growth of 7% or $386 million more, when compared to what was reported in the same quarter of the previous fiscal year. The growth is consistent with the employment figures that show a 5.5% growth for this period, in addition to the early jump in income tax payments, associated with the April tax period, representing some $9.6 million more.
In March, the non-resident withholding line exhibited a growth of 58.2% compared to March 2021. The contribution from the manufacturing sectors ($8.4 million more) and wholesale trade ($3 million more,) were the main areas responsible for this growth, according to Treasury Department data.
Collections up during 9 months of Fiscal 2022
When comparing the accumulated collections to March 2022, according to the accrual method, Fiscal 2022 collections exceed the level of accumulated income for Fiscal 2021 by $989.3 million, which represents a growth of 13.5%, the agency revealed.
Collections through March exceeded projections — which were revised at the end of January — by $524.1 million, or 6.7%.
