RIYADH: The UAE’s government’s revenues and expenditures both saw downturns in the first quarter of 2023, with the tax yield seeing a quarter-on-quarter drop of 11.5 billion dirhams ($3.13 billion).
According to figures released by the Ministry of Finance, income of 115.6 billion dirhams was recorded in the three months to the end of March 2023, down 19.22 percent from the previous quarter.
Expenditure also fell, dropping from 120.3 billion dirhams in the final three months of 2022 to 92.5 billion dirhams in the first quarter of this year.
The UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed bin Hadi Al-Hussaini, was quoted in an announcement as saying that the next stage of government work requires defining government priorities, making qualitative transformations, and implementing projects that aim at achieving the country’s strategic goals.
According to the Government Finance Statistics Report, the revenues of this year’s first quarter included 63.5 billion dirhams of tax revenues, 3.9 billion dirhams of revenues from social contributions, and 48.2 billion dirhams from other sources such as from property income, goods and services, and fines and penalties.
The data also showed the value of total expenditures amounted to 92.5 billion dirhams, consisting of net investment in non-financial assets, expenses – including employees’ wages— and the use of goods and services.
There were also interest payments, subsidies, grants, social benefits, and other transfers.
The results of financial transactions during the first quarter of 2023 show the value of net lending and borrowing, an indicator of the financial impact of government activity on other sectors of the economy, amounted to 23.2 billion dirhams.
Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance Younis Haji Al-Khouri said that these results reflect the efficiency of government expenditure and effective utilization of financial resources in directing them to priority strategic sectors.
He added: “It also showcases the advancement of the government’s financial framework and its success in developing new and diversified sources of government revenue away from oil, and adopting effective financial policies to manage and develop the government’s financial resources.”
Al-Khouri noted that the government’s financial performance enhances the UAE’s competitiveness and its move towards sustainable socio-economic development.
He added that the World Bank projects the UAE’s non-oil sector to achieve strong growth by the end of 2023, driven by robust domestic demand, particularly in tourism, real estate, construction, transportation, and manufacturing sectors.
