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General Fund net revenues fall short by $27.4M in Aug.

revenue augustPuerto Rico’s General Fund net collections fell short of projected estimates by $27.4 million last month, when the government collected $440.6 million, hit mostly by a drop in payments from corporations under Law 154, motor vehicle sales and individual payments.

Total year-to-date revenues for the first two months of Fiscal 2015 (July and August) were a little more than $1.0 billion, representing a $97 million, or 10 percent, year-over-year increase and is $10 million over estimates for the two-month period, Treasury Secretary Melba Acosta said Thursday.

While fiscal year-to-date revenues exceeded last year’s revenues for the same period and also estimates for the two year period, Treasury will continue monitoring revenue collections closely and will take the necessary fiscal measures as needed, she said.

The agency also reported a 3.3 percent increase in sales and use tax (known as SUT) revenues during the month of August, which marked the 14th consecutive month that SUT revenues registered an increase.

August SUT collections at the 6 percent rate totaled $108 million, which were allocated in full to the Puerto Rico Sales Tax Financing Corp. (known as COFINA) for debt service, she said.

For comparison purposes, August 2014 SUT revenues at the 6 percent rate equaled $99 million at 2013’s 5.5 percent rate, meaning there was a SUT revenue increase of 3.3 percent, or $3 million, she said.

As for the main revenue drivers compared to the prior period, the excise tax on foreign corporations (Law 154) decreased by $45 million in August. Nevertheless, revenues in this category were up by $148 million in July 2014, which translates to a $103 million year-to-date net increase.

The excise tax on motor vehicles showed a $14 million decline, while the corporate income tax collections reflected a $12 million increase.

Author Details
Author Details
Business reporter with 30 years of experience writing for weekly and daily newspapers, as well as trade publications in Puerto Rico. My list of former employers includes Caribbean Business, The San Juan Star, and the Puerto Rico Daily Sun, among others. My areas of expertise include telecommunications, technology, retail, agriculture, tourism, banking and most other segments of Puerto Rico’s economy.
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