Government is facing a huge revenue black hole, according to the Bermuda Democratic Alliance.

This afternoon Michael Fahy, the party’s finance spokesman, claimed that Government was 15.7 percent short of its predicted revenue halfway through the fiscal year.

He was speaking after Premier Paula Cox told the House of Assembly that Government collected $446 million in revenues between April and September this year.

Answering Parliamentary Questions posed by BDA?MP?Shawn Crockwell she said: “[This] is $15 million or 3.5 percent higher than the corresponding period in 2009/2010.”

Government projected it would earn $1.058 billion in revenues from taxes such as payroll, customs duty, hotel occupancy tax. This would mean halfway through the financial year Bermuda could have expected to see approximately $529 million in revenues, Mr Fahy said.

“This represents a severe shortfall in revenue for the Government. Some $83 million short,”?he said.

“It could mean that the actual revenue for 12 months could be $892 million, which is a $166 million shortfall. At the moment the Government is 15.7 percent short on its prediction.

“This is a serious, serious problem. It is clear, per our predictions, that the payroll tax increase has not had the desired effect on increasing government revenue. The situation is so bad that [Deputy Premier] Derrick Burgess reportedly said that the Government has no money to fix accident black spots and prevent road fatalities.

“What else does the Government not have money for?”

“ We have to ask the question - who is really benefiting under this Government?

“It is clearly not retailers. It is clearly not IB. It is clearly not the electorate given the rise in unemployment. What costs are being cut? What is being done to reign in the spending to match the actual revenue collected?

“We urge the Premier to explain what is being done. So far the silence is deafening. Is this the Government that we want managing the public purse? What would you do if you fell short on your household budget by over 15 percent? The truth is self evident.”

It is the third year in a row Govrenment has fallen short on its predicted revenues.

Full story in tomorrow’s Royal Gazette