New PM Arthur Presents First Budget of New Term
This
week, the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Owen Arthur,
presented his first budget after being returned to office in February.
He pointed to his government's achievements over the previous
four years, including the reduction in unemployment from 23% to
11%, reduction in the debt service ratio from 24% to 8%, and the
improvement in foreign exchange reserves. However,
the budget would be cautious. He announced a number of measures
to incentivise manufacturing industry and the tourist sector,
but said that the island's agreement with the WTO meant that it
had to accept greater openness and thus, competitive pressure.
The import surtax, which had supplanted banned import duties,
would be phased out by April 2000. Import licences would also
go. He announced the formation of a policy committee to support
e-commerce development, expansion of the treaty network, and a
revamp of offshore legislation. Property
Transfer Tax is to be increased to 10% for all vendors, but
the non-resident purchasers' tax would be abolished. The exemption
for residents would be increased from BDS$25,000 to $125,000.
Minor changes were are planned for Land Tax. .
|
|
IMPORTANT NOTICE: TAX-NEWS.COM has taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials on this site copyright TAX-NEWS.COM 1999 to 2007. Contact us for further information.