$4.8 Billion Collected from Gas Tax

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has informed that as at the end of August, a total of $4.8 billion has been collected from the Special Consumption Tax (SCT) on fuel.
Mr. Shaw was responding to a question posed by Opposition Spokesman on Transport and Works, Robert Pickersgill, at last Wednesday’s (Sept. 16) sitting of the House of Representatives.
During his budget presentation in April this year, Minister Shaw announced an 8.75 cents increase in the price per litre of gasoline, with 20 per cent of the money to go to the Road Maintenance Fund to undertake road repairs.
“The total amount (collected from May to August 31) both in the respect of SCT on petroleum product imports as well as SCT on locally refined oil imports sold to the trade through the Inland Revenue Department …is $4.8 billion. Approximately $960 million is assigned for the Fund,” he told the House.
Of the amount earmarked for the Fund, Minister Shaw said that “$430 million has been sent to the Ministry of Transport and Works for onward transmission to the Road Maintenance Fund and there is another $500 million that will be remitted this week for a total of about $900 million.”
“We are in fact looking at if we are to remit the funds directly to the Road Maintenance Fund; we are looking at bringing the funds within the (ambit) of the Consolidated Fund so it would be operated through the Consolidated Fund but that is a work in progress …the Road Maintenance Fund does have a management structure to it but certainly, it’s still a work in progress,” he noted further.
He added that the Ministry would be “looking at other details to make sure that there will be absolute transparency and regular reporting to be done.”