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The States' unaudited financial statements indicate that public finances in 2020 are tens of millions of pounds better than originally forecast.
According to Policy & Resources, the general revenue financial position has improved by an estimated £32m (from -£59m) since the budget forecasts were produced last year.
As things stand, the financial statements are yet to be audited or validated.
A P&R spokesman owed the significant improvement to a strong economic bounce back in the last three months of the year.
"The largest contributing factor to the improvement was a much stronger than forecast fourth quarter in terms of tax receipts for employed individuals, with 12 of the 19 official sectors paying more in wages in the fourth quarter of 2020 than the same period in 2019."
Pictured: More than £50m was paid out in business support payments during 2020.
"An exceptionally strong housing market and larger than anticipated customs duty receipts also contributed positively. As a result, total revenues for 2020 are now expected to be just £7m short of budget. This reflects positively on the resilience of the local economy and its potential for recovery."
Public finances have, by no means, been unharmed by the effects of the pandemic.
The general revenue budget shows a provisional deficit, before capital spending, of an estimated £27m, with reductions in tax contributions from most sectors of the economy across the year as a whole.
More than £50m has been spent on business support payments during 2020, while Health & Social Care was £3m above its budget as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Pictured: Deputy Helyar believes 2021 can be a better year for public finances than 2020.
This additional spend has been partially offset by reduced expenditure elsewhere because of the limitations placed on normal operational activity.
“We should be really encouraged by how businesses bounced back in the second half of 2020, especially the final quarter," said P&R Committee Member Mark Helyar. "That’s important as we now come out of our second lockdown.
"We’re confident we will see another quick and strong rallying from businesses in a wide range of sectors and if we do, 2021 can be an even better year overall.”
Businesses seeking to claim for financial support through the payroll co-funding scheme for March 2021 can do so from Thursday 1 April. As the Bank Holiday Easter weekend begins on 2 April, the Business Support Team has warned that processing of claims will not re-commence until Tuesday 6 April, which also applies to the next possible date to process bank payments.
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