The 2024-2025 budget communication was delivered in the House Of Assembly on Wednesday by Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, the Hon. Philip Davis. The theme chosen for the year’s communication was ‘Changing The Status Quo, Changing Lives.’

During his presentation Mr. Davis spoke about the country’s improved revenue collection which stood at $2.2 billion at the end of March 2024. He said, “tax revenue, to date, amounts to 67% of the budget forecast. Revenue highlights during the first three quarters of the fiscal year are as follows: taxes collected on property grew by $18.4 million and totaled $145.6 million which represents 74.6 percent of the budget target.”

The Prime Minister also gave details of the revenue collected from Value Added Tax (VAT). “VAT receipts improved by $58.5 million or 6.3% and amounted to $993.9 million following amendments to the VAT Act strengthening collections enforcement. This total accounts for 62.5% of budget targets.”

When detailing expenditure Mr. Davis said, “outlay on compensation of employees increased by $35 million to total $629 million, representing 73.5 percent of the budget target. This reflects a higher public sector wage bill, due to various union agreements and employee promotions and classification reforms. Interest Payments on Public Debt increased by $17.3 million to total $409.1 million.”

The annual budget debate is set to begin in the House Of Assembly on Wednesday, June 5th.

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