| Budget still in progress | | Print | |
| Tuesday, 29 March 2011 12:06 | |||
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Although the financial year is coming to a close in just a matter of days, the 2011-12 budget is still under construction. “It is still a work in progress,” said interim government Chief Executive Officer Mark Capes said March 23, when the Advisory Council met to work on the budget. The budget is still being “fine tuned,” according to Capes, before it goes through its formal approval channels. The budget will have meet the scrutiny of the Advisory Council and then the Consultative Forum, before it can be put into action. The governor announced earlier this month that further cuts to government budgets and the civil service will be included in the upcoming budget. “We must make significant changes to get us on course for a fiscal surplus in the fiscal year 2012-13. This is a key milestone to reach before a date for elections can be set,” the governor said. One of the biggest changes is expected to come in the form of some sort of new taxes. One of the most controversial proposed revenue changes is a 10-percent tax on electricity and water. The new tax was suggested by the European Union-paid economic advisors to the government, who proposed the change to help close the massive $55 million budget gap until a more permanent tax plan could be put in place. The utilities tax has raised much concern with many citizens and local businesses. “We’re taking on board those concerns and looking at ways we can perhaps come to a different approach to it, but nothing’s yet set in stone,” Capes said. “We have to find the money somehow, so if we don’t find it on those utilities, we’ll have to find it somewhere else,” he added. While the country is experiencing a tourism boom, the recurrent revenue continues to fall significantly short of government spending. The governor has said the new budget for 2011-12 is aiming to make 25-percent cuts in spending for public service, statutory bodies and government rents by budget year 2012-13. All this fine tuning means it will be weeks before a final budget can be approved and the country will know what final changes will be made.
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