For the current year 2022, the official projection of the Government of the Republic is to collect 325 million lempiras daily. A report provided by the Ministry of Finance (SEFIN, for its acronym in Spanish) indicates that an average of 377 million lempiras are collected daily; this means that taxes have increased by 52 million lempiras daily, or 16% daily. From January 1st to July 5th, 2022, the taxes generated a total of 70,058.2 million lempiras.
Tax revenues in Honduras (internal and customs revenues) report better results than those obtained in 2021. One of the taxes with the best performance is the 15% Sales Tax (ISV, for its acronym in Spanish). Last year, the Ministry of Finance reported 128 million lempiras per day collected, on average, in Sales Tax (ISV). By 2022 the figure has surpassed last year’s reports, with an average of 140 million lempiras per day. Sales Tax (ISV) collections reached 25,977.6 million lempiras. The 15% Sales Tax (ISV) is the main source of revenue for the centralized public administration in Honduras, with a 37% contribution to date.
Taxes have been experiencing steady growth in recent years, with the exception of 2020 due to the effects of the covid-19 pandemic and the Eta and Iota storms, when the economy declined by 12.5%. Technical sources of the Ministry of Finance maintain that tax collection is linked to the country’s economic activity, especially in sectors such as commerce and consumption.
Finally, the Central Bank of Honduras (BCH, for its acronym in Spanish) estimates that GDP growth will range between 3.5% and 4.5% this year. By 2022, collections could exceed 130 billion lempiras, 12 billion more than the initial target, which is based on the behavior observed this year.
gabriela.aguirre@garciabodan.com
Associate
García & Bodán
Honduras