THE CNMI government’s total tax and fee collections for the first quarter of fiscal year 2024 fell short of projected revenue by $5.3 million or over 12%, according to a report submitted by Finance Secretary Tracy B. Norita to Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero and House Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez.
The report included a spreadsheet indicating the difference between the forecast and actual collections of taxes and fees in the first quarter of FY 2024, or from Oct. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023.
Although there was a $631,745 or 2% increase in income taxes, which included business gross revenue and personal Northern Marianas territorial income taxes, the collection of other taxes and fees amounted to $5.5 million only or 39% lower than anticipated.
The excise tax collection target in the first quarter was $3.6 million, but Finance collected $1.9 million only. The beverage container tax was expected to be $444,169 but the government collected $348,914 only. In addition, the estimated collection of $1,582,132 for the hotel occupancy tax in the first quarter missed the mark by 3.8% at $1,521,221.
The license and other fees collected by the government missed the forecast by more than $1 million or 34%.
The actual revenue from other fees and service charges totaled $438,219 or 12% short of the government’s projection.
Overall, the government fell 12.8% short of its $43.7 million revenue target in the first quarter of FY 2024, collecting only $38.1 million.
During the House session on Friday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Ralph N. Yumul said if this trend in revenue collection continues, “we are looking at about $20 million shortfall for this fiscal year.”
He added, “I’m asking our Senate counterparts to pass our revenue-generating bills that we sent up so that we can curb some of these shortfalls. I am assuming that the ‘golden weeks’ are coming up within a couple of months so we should get an increase in tourism and hopefully start the upward trend in collecting revenues for the CNMI.”
