Government misses revenue target

The finance ministry in the performance of the economy macroeconomic policy monthly report for December 2022 notes that the government operations in December resulted in an o8verall fiscal surplus of sh335b, which was lower than the planned surplus of sh515b.

“This was on account of the shortfalls registered under revenue and grants, which more than offset the lower than planned expenditure during the month,” said the finance ministry.

The fiscal surplus is a situation where the government has or raises more money than it spends during a particular period such as month, quarter and a year.

In the areas of revenue and grants, the government also registered a decline in December 2022.

The finance ministry said revenue and grants for December 2022 amounted to sh2.782b against a target of sh3.19b.

This implies that both domestic revenue collections and grants fell short of their respective monthly targets.

Domestic revenue

Domestic revenue collections for December 2022 stood at Shs2.634 trillion against a target of sh2.950 trillion for the month as both tax and non-tax collections registered shortfalls during the month.

The Finance Ministry said tax revenue collections amounted to sh2.517 trillion against a target of sh2.799 trillion, leaving a shortfall of Shs281.46 billion.

“This shortfall emanated from all the three major tax heads. Direct domestic taxes (income taxes) for the month amounted to sh1.310 trillion, a 96.0 percent performance rate against the planned sh1.364 trillion, posting a shortfall of Shs53.40 billion,” the Finance Ministry said in the report.

This shortfall was attributed to the lower than anticipated collections under corporate tax and withholding tax on treasury bills and bonds.