Transfers from the Oil Fund allowed the 2015 budget in Timor-Leste (East Timor) to post a surplus of US$471.8 million, according to a statement from the Ministry of Finance issued Wednesday in Dili.
The fiscal newsletter of the Ministry of Finance for the third quarter of 2015, reports said that excluding the Oil Fund, the main source of government revenue, Timor-Leste would have ended 2015 with a deficit of US$835.9 million.
The oil revenues of the Timorese state were US$1.306 billion last year, in addition toUS$139.1 million from the Donor Fund and US$122.2 million in non-oil revenues.
Overall, the state withdrew from the Oil Fund US$1.2785 billion, of which US$638.5 million correspond to the amount of Estimated Sustainable Income (RSE) and the remaining US$640 million were withdrawals above this sustainable value.
Taxes accounted for the largest share of non-oil revenues (72.1 percent). Income tax increased 0.73 percent to US$53.3 million, tax on goods and services fell 5.4 percent to US$60.2 million and tax on international trade fell 9.5 percent to US$12.1 million. (macauhub/TL)