GOVERNMENT is looking to rake in a sizeable increase in non-tax revenue during the next financial year, starting April 1, 2020.

In addition, there will be no borrowing from the private external commercial market, with foreign funding expected to come from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).

These projections are contained in the Draft Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for 2020/2021, which will be debated this week.

According to the Estimates, non-tax revenues are expected to increase from approximately $191 million as outlined in the Revised Estimates for the current financial year, which ends March 31, to about $241.0 million reflecting the revenue grab as the Government maintains its quest to boost revenue.

Non-tax revenue includes a number of charges for Government services and quite recently, charges levied by services rendered by the Barbados Postal Service were increased.

For the new financial year, Government said it expects to take in $3.14 billion in revenues inclusive of the non-tax while total expenditure projected amounts to $3.37 billion. This leaves a shortfall of $230.0 million.

In seeking to close that gap, the Government intends tapping the IDB and the CDB for loans worth about $265.6 million. It will be seeking to raise $157.6 million from the IDB and the remainder from the Barbados-based CDB.

Since the debt restructuring programme was undertaken, Government instruments like treasury notes, treasury bills, debentures and bonds are no longer factored into the equation of domestic financing.

On Friday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Barbados, Cleviston Haynes, said that for persons to invest in government instruments, they will have to do so via the secondary market from individuals desirous of selling them.

Looking at some of the expenditure items as outlined in the Estimates, the Government wages bill is estimated at $736 million for the coming year. An amount of $614 million has been earmarked for Transfers, a further sum of $433.4 million for Goods and Services, $367.1 million for Retirement benefits and $366.0 million for debt service.