Revised Estimates for 2018-19
11. The 2018-19 revised estimates on government revenue is $596.4 billion, lower than the original estimate by 1.3 per cent or $8.1 billion. This is mainly due to lower-than-expected revenues from land premium and stamp duties, while revenues from profits tax and salaries tax are higher than the original estimate by $16.1 billion.
12. Revenues from stamp duties and land premium have always been highly susceptible to market fluctuations and therefore volatile. The revenue from land premium is $115.9 billion, $5.1 billion less than the original estimate, mainly due to the unsuccessful tendering of two sites in the year. Stamp duty revenue is $80 billion, $20 billion less than the original estimate, attributed to smaller-than-expected trading volumes brought about by adjustments in the property and stock markets over the year.
13. As for government expenditure, the revised estimate is $537.7 billion, 5.6 per cent or $31.9 billion lower than the original estimate. This is mainly because the expenditures on certain policy initiatives and public works projects were lower than the original estimates.
14. All in all, I forecast a surplus of $58.7 billion for 2018-19. Fiscal reserves are expected to reach $1,161.6 billion by 31 March 2019.
15. The civil service establishment increased by 6 700 posts in this financial year, representing a growth of 3.7 per cent, higher than the average growth of one to two per cent over the past decade. One of the main reasons is the additional manpower requirements arising from the commissioning of several boundary control points.
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