Professor Prasad dismisses claims of unrealistic revenue targets

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad has dismissed claims that the government's revenue expectations for the 2025/2026 financial year may not be met.

While delivering his budget speech in Parliament, he had revealed that it is an expansionary budget, with a total revenue of $3.9 billion.

Tax revenue was projected to rise to $3.42 billion at the end of the 2024/2025 financial year yesterday.

Professor Prasad says the criticisms regarding the budget for the 2025/2026 financial year are baseless and out of touch with financial realities, emphasizing that the government relies on accurate financial data rather than speculation.

Professor Prasad pointed out that under the previous administration, revenue forecasts consistently fell short.

He says that in 2018 and 2019, the government's revenue projections were off by more than a billion dollars, and in fact, the government had run out of money in 2019.

The Finance Minister says that the Coalition government has maintained strong fiscal discipline over the past two financial years.

He adds that the government's revenue forecasts have been met by almost 99 percent, and in this budget, actual revenue is expected to exceed the budgeted amount.