NOT unlike previous fiscal years, the Government managed to beat its primary surplus target by $1 billion in April.

The performance was due to slightly better-than-expected tax collections (which was 10 per cent higher than the same month last year) and tighter spending on all expenditure items.

Interest payments on domestic debt were $860 million lower than projected, while capital spending was $380 million below budget.

But revenue from taxes on imports, such as customs duty, GCT and special consumption tax were collectively $1.2 billion less than hoped for.

While the single month’s collection may not be an indication of a trend to expect over the course of the year, the lower-than-expected revenue from international trade was a likely result of lower imports.

For instance, the actual amount collected from environmental levy applied to goods coming into the island was two-thirds of the amount budgeted and nearly 40 per cent below the year-earlier level.

Government hopes to raise an additional $2.7 billion from a new customs administration fee (CAF) and additional GCT revenue that would come from applying the consumption tax to the environmental levy and the CAF this fiscal year.

However, projections were based on a 13 per cent increase in the value of imports. Total imports were estimated at 40 per cent of the country’s $1.35 trillion GDP last fiscal year, while it is expected to be 41 per cent of the projected $1.49 trillion nominal GDP this year.

Two new taxes — applied to hotel accommodation and telephone calls — outperformed projections. Combined, they brought in $800 million, or $220 million more than projected during the first month of the fiscal year, which began April 1.

Earnings from the levy on bauxite were 20 per cent lower in April than the same month last year, while it missed the target for this fiscal year by 14 per cent.

Total bauxite production during April 2013 was up by 0.7 per cent, but its export declined by 27.8 per cent during the month.