Vele says govt focussing on generating revenue

TREASURY Secretary Dairi Vele says the focus of the 2019 Budget will be on generating revenue.
Vele said part of the medium-term revenue strategy was to resource revenue-generating agencies including Internal Revenue Commission and the PNG Customs Services.
“All of these things are captured in our medium term revenue strategy and we got an overarching medium-term fiscal development and medium-term debt strategy which guides us on how we make money, spend money … so we can fund all the expenditure,” he said.
“We are (always) focused on expenditure.
“Now, revenue is going to be part of our DNA.”
Vele said the first part of the medium-term revenue was to stop the decline.
He said the revenue from 2014 to 2016 had declined.
But from 2017, it started to increase.
Next year it is expected to increase again.
“That’s not taxing more but taxing smarter, making sure that everyone who should be paying tax is paying tax,” Vele said.
“So we stick to our medium-term revenue strategy by resourcing IRC and PNG Customs to make sure that they make more money.”
The total revenue forecast for 2019 is K14.266 billion and total expenditure is K16.133 bil.
Net deficit is K1.867 billion.
“We do what we’ve been doing for the last few years – remain focused on our goal. We’ve got a revenue strategy,” Vele said.
“Let’s stick to it and spend smart and deal with our risks.”