BoG Mid-Year Report: Growth in oil & gas sector spurs 21.8% increase in income tax collection

– GRA rakes in $129.7B in income tax, $216B in total taxes collected for 1st half of 2024

The first half of 2024 saw the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) collecting over $215 billion in taxes, owing not to any increase in tax rates, but rather the expansion of the economy.
This is according to the Bank of Guyana (BoG), which also revealed that growth in the oil and gas sector has led to a 21.8 per cent increase in income tax collection.
In its recently released Mid-Year Report, the BoG revealed that the revenue body was able to collect $216 billion in taxes during the first half of the year. This is an 18.8 per cent increase in tax collection, contributing significantly to total current revenues which also increased to $227.2 billion.
It was noted that the increased tax collection was due to the growth in the economy. Income tax collection increased by 21.8 per cent to $129.7 billion. In addition, private corporation taxes increased by 21.1 per cent to $48.8 billion. In the case of the former, this was attributed to the oil and gas industry’s expansion.
“Income tax receipts increased by 21.8 per cent to G$129,791 million on account of a broader base of collections from oil & gas-related firms. Personal income taxes and withholding taxes expanded by 14.6 per cent and 31.9 per cent to G$39,511 million and G$39,389 million respectively,” the report states.

Three Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels- the Liza Destiny, Unity and Prosperity- are currently producing oil in Guyana’s waters, with a fourth one, the One Guyana FPSO, expected to start production in the second half of next year. The increase in FPSOs has also come with a heightened demand for support services and increasing employment opportunities.
As of April 2024, some 6000 locals were actively contributing to the oil and gas sector’s growth, which represented almost 70 per cent of the total workforce and a 24 per cent increase in Guyanese hired. Of the 6000 locals, over 900 Guyanese were employed as plant and machine operators; 1,203 as professionals, including accountants, lawyers, and engineers; and another 485 as technicians.
And while 6000 locals are a significant amount, the government has its eyes set on the oil and gas related Guyanese workforce expanding. For instance, Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat had pointed out that with Guyana producing over 640,000 barrels of oil per day, which is projected to increase to 1.3 million barrels by 2027, the number of locals in the sector must increase to complement this growth.
“6000 is quite significant, but we are not satisfied. We’re working right now to build out the Guyana Technical Training College (GTTC) in Port Mourant in Berbice, to ensure that we train more of our people so that they can be employed directly in the sector,” Minister Bharrat had said.
Further, he had said that government has been in talks with oil companies to offer scholarships to Guyanese, so they can develop their knowledge of the industry. Another announcement made by the minister at the time is that the government would be moving to conduct local content sensitisation workshops around the country. This would be with the aim of ensuring that more people are familiar with the opportunities in the oil and gas sector.
The People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government has also been highlighting the link between the Local Content Act it implemented in 2021 and the increasing number of Guyanese firms operating in the sector. The Natural Resources Minister, for instance, had pointed out the numerous partnerships between local and foreign companies, encouraged by the law.
Notable alliances include joint ventures and partnerships that would be providing shore base facilities, offshore support vessel services, offshore helicopter services, offshore catering services, machining and fabrication services, and hazardous waste management.
Only last year, the government went out to public auction for the sale of more oil blocks, increasing the opportunities that will be available in the sector, with a second potential auction in the pipelines. Among those awarded oil blocks during that bid round was a Guyanese female-led company, Sispro Inc., which received a shallow block (S3) and a deep-water block (D2).
Other shallow blocks were awarded to Total Energies EP Guyana BV in consortium with Qatar Energy International E&P LLC and Petronas E&P Overseas Ventures SDN BHD (Malaysia), which got Block S4; Liberty Petroleum Corporation of the US and Ghana-based Cybele Energy Limited, which got Block S7, and International Group Investment Inc. of Nigeria, which got two blocks – S5 and S10. (Jarryl Byran)