Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Godwin Friday on Thursday provided specific projections for tax revenue in the 2026 estimates, framing them as a calculated effort to ease the financial burden on citizens.
The Prime Minister announced that revenue from tax sources is expected to contribute $762.6 million to the budget. He noted that this represents a marginal increase of 0.7%.
Friday provided details on specific tax types expected to contribute to this increase:
Taxes on International Trade and Transactions: These are expected to increase by $4.5 million, representing a rise of 1.9%.
Taxes on Income and Profits: These are projected to go up by 6.5%, reaching a total of $129 million.
To provide context for the overall revenue picture, the Prime Minister explained that while tax revenue is increasing marginally, the total current revenue (projected at $906.9 million) is lower than the previous year.
He clarified that this decrease is not due to tax performance, but rather a 40% drop in non-tax revenue. This drop was attributed to a specific one-off event in 2025: a $20 million reimbursement from the World Bank for hurricane cleanup that would not be repeated in 2026.