St. John’s Antigua and Barbuda: An increase in the revenues from the custom duty has helped the Government of Antigua and Barbuda to meet a number of financial requirements and complete various development projects during 2024.
Prime Minister Gaston Browne said that the Antigua and Barbuda’s Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority registered over half a billion dollars of revenue during 2024.
This not only helped the government in meeting various financial obligations, but it also is a reflection of how the prudent policies adopted by the government of Antigua and Barbuda have helped in promoting the local businesses.
During a recent public address, Prime Minister Browne said the government was committed to promote the businesses so that Antigua and Barbuda can improve upon its financial stability. The revenue growth registered by Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority is an outcome of the prudent decisions taken by the government to promote the businesses.
The Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority recorded a rise in imports and exports over the previous years due to which it was able to collect over half a billion dollars during 2024. The Prime Minister said that this was a clear indication that the economy of Antigua and Barbuda was growing by leaps and bounds and now there was no looking back.
He said that the funds that have been collected by the Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority had been spent on a number of development projects across the twin island federation.
Most of these funds were spent on improving the infrastructure that were required by the civic authorities to deal with the problem of garbage, fire and also for upgrading the equipment of the coast guards.
The additional funds that were made available to the government by the Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority helped in timely release of salaries to the public sector employees and also cleared any backlogs of payments bringing much joy to the citizens of Antigua and Barbuda. He said that the government was able to spend $80 million on various financial obligations during 2024.
He said that the government had adopted various policies that supported the local businesses and the revenues that have been collected by Customs and Excise Division and Port Authority through the increase in import and exports from the twin Island federation were proof that these policies have eventually led to a growth of the local businesses.
This increase in trading practices was also contributing to the economic stability of Antigua and Barbuda, said Browne
The Prime Minister also tried to address the concerns raised by some citizens that the increase in custom collections was due to a hike in import duties. The Prime Minister said that while the taxes imposed on various imports added to the kitty of custom collection, it was primarily due to the pro-business policies adopted by his government that the revenue collection at the customs registered a rise during 2024.
While the Prime Minister lauded the role played by his government in improving the collection of custom revenues, there has been a mixed reaction from the people of Antigua and Barbuda over this development. Some of the residents said that the increase in revenue collections was due to higher import duties that the government had imposed during 2024.
On the other hand some of the citizens while commenting on social media said that this was indeed an outcome of good policies adopted by the government that the revenues from import and export had increased and the local businesses were flourishing.
The prime minister has reposed faith in the economic growth that is being witnessed by Antigua and Barbuda claiming that his government will continue to support the local businesses so that they can grow and add to the economic strength of the twin island federation.
