DESPITE a significant shortfall in locally generated revenues due to the ongoing global pandemic, the CNMI government’s tax collections exceeded its target by 2.56% due to the federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, according to the fiscal year 2021’s second quarter report submitted by Finance Secretary David DLG Atalig to Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez.
The collections for wage and salary tax, the corporate income tax and the business gross revenue tax were less than the projected amount in the second quarter of the current fiscal year, which ended March 31, the report said.
The wage and salary tax collections in the second quarter, the report said, stood at $4,450,173 or about 25% less than the target collection. The corporate income tax collection totaled $297,176 or over 51% less than the projected amount, $613,819.
The BGRT collection in the second quarter was $10,875,500, which is about 20% less than the forecast while the excise tax collections yielded $6,079,375 or 27% less than the target amount.
Also in the second quarter, the Northern Marianas Territorial Income Tax collection amounted to $9,447,767. The report said this is directly attributed to taxes received from PUA and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation funds provided to eligible recipients.
Overall, the Finance secretary said, the revenue collection for the second quarter was $21,590,135, which is higher by 2.56% than the forecast amount of $21,051,941. “This is mainly attributed to assistance received by taxpayers from PUA,” the secretary reiterated.
It is important to note, he added, that these do not include any of the earmarked financial resources pursuant to the FY2021 Appropriation Law or Public Law 21-35.
Retirees, health insurance, DPS
But the report also indicated that the CNMI government’s expenditures in some areas exceeded the appropriated budget.
These included the 25% retirees’ benefits amounting to $6,834,003 for the first and second quarters.
But the remaining expenses for the 25% retirees’ benefits for FY 2021 will be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency Community Disaster Loan, Atalig said.
In addition, the $5,172,872 for the Group Health and Life Insurance employer and retiree shares, which are $2,308,391 and $2,864,481 respectively, exceeded the appropriated amount of $1,919,210, or by 170%, the report stated.
The Department of Public Safety, for its part, was appropriated $1,234,717 but spent $2,837,826, an overexpenditure of 130%.
Atalig said this “is attributed to the department’s response to the Covid-19 emergency.”
