By Zainab.joaque@awokonewspaper.sl
SIERRA LEONE, Freetown – The Ministry of Finance has totalled a projected Revenue and Grants resource envelope for the fiscal year 2023 (FY2023) amounting to SLL12.6 billion which is 19.5 per cent of GDP.
According to the Budget Call Circular (BCC), Domestic Revenue is projected at SLL9.7 billion (15.0 per cent of GDP) in FY2023 from an estimated SLL7.8 billion (14.7 per cent of GDP) in 2022. Grants are projected at SLL2.9 billion (4.5 per cent of GDP) in FY2023 from an estimate of SLL3.1 billion (5.8 per cent of GDP) in FY2022.
In addition, total expenditure and net lending are projected at SLL14.4 billion (22.3 per cent of GDP) in FY2023 from an estimated SLL13.3 billion (25.1 per cent of GDP) in 2022. Of the total expenditure and net lending, Goods and Services are projected at SLL1.6 billion, whilst Subsidies and Transfers are projected at SLL1.7 billion.
The domestic capital budget is projected at SLL1.5 billion (2.3 per cent of GDP) for 2023 from an estimated SLL1.3 billion (2.4 per cent of GDP).
Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are requested to provide a comprehensive list of all current and prospective revenue streams. MDAs, the MoF said must also provide data on actual revenue collected in the last two years, as well as medium-term revenue projections, including deposits on the sale of contract bid documents.
In addition, all balances in Bank Accounts must be reported when submitting revenue proposals. They are also required to submit tax and non-tax proposals, including those for changes in the rates of fees, licenses, etc. for discussion during budget hearings.
Under Finance Act 2020, MDAs are also requested to budget for the payment of all taxes, duties and fees as they shall be liable to pay all taxes, fees and import duties on their imports.
MDAs are expected to further provide in their Budget proposal for 2023 a report on tax expenditure covering duty waivers by category and corporate income tax waived for investment projects including mining companies operating under their supervision.