The unaudited accounts for the financial year ended 31 March 2019, known as the Light Blue Book, will be laid before the July sitting of Tynwald.
The highlights include:
- income was significantly higher than expected – a total of £1,066m which was £20.5m better than budget and an improvement of £31.1m on the previous year
- income tax receipts up by £14.5m to £238m
- other income sources were better than budget by £6.0m
- the closing market value of the externally managed reserves, including cash, was £1,749m, or £1,873m including the investment in the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
- spending on NI-funded benefits was lower than budget by £4.7m, mainly due to retirement pensions which were £6.3m lower. That reduction enabled a transfer to the Healthcare Transformation Fund of £1.4m
- overall revenue surplus of £30.8 million
Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan MHK said:
‘The information contained in the accounts sends out a clear message that government finances are in a strong position. This has been achieved through a combination of considered investment in our Public Services, the application of strong cost controls and a broad range of policy initiatives to support economic growth.
‘This in turn has led to better than expected direct and indirect taxation receipts and lower than anticipated Social Security expenditure, but we must not be complacent, particularly given international events.’
He added:
‘We continue to benefit from the level of diversification in our economy and the e-gaming, insurance and ICT sectors are all performing well. It is important that we continue to build on the progress made to ensure we have sufficient resilience to meet future challenges.’
The Light Blue Book is aligned with the Budget Pink Book to promote transparency and understanding of the year’s financial transactions and the year-end financial position.
