UPDATE: More taxes on residents! – 2015 Budget
He was at the time delivering his one hour long budget speech in the Second Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Second House of Assembly.
“We have decided to change the work permit structure so that fees will be based on occupation type with consideration given to average income; change water rates to align with increases in purchasing water, introduce a tourist arrival levy in 2016, reverse the charges on import duties on FOB rather than CIF values; adopt a more aggressive approach to collection of taxes and fees and the rates by reviewing current legislation to give revenue collecting agencies greater authority to enforce compliance,” he said.
He said too that Government plans to conduct an ongoing comprehensive review of government’s tax and fee structures with a view to closing loopholes ensuring that fees at least cover the cost of providing services and “….the overall coherence of Government taxes and fees to advance transparency and fairness,” he said.
“In addition to this we are also placing downward pressure on all expenditures, mandating that all departments and agencies be more careful in how and what they spend money on in addition to identifying saving of 5 percent or more in their year to year budgets over the three year budget cycle,” he said.
“Madam Speaker we are duty bound to the people of this Territory to provide the best fiscal and economic management possible and to this end we will continue to make the hard and necessary choices required to do so, while at the same time making sure that the good, honest and hardworking people of this Territory are in a better position to provide for themselves and their families,” said Premier Smith.
See previous article published on November 17, 2014:
Brace for another NDP speech this time the Budget!
-Today November 17, 2014 is Budget Day in the Virgin Islands
ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI - Just coming off a speech from the throne, last Monday November 10, 2014 in which the United Kingdom appointed Governor John S. Duncan outlined the National Democratic Party (NDP) Legislative priorities, brace for another speech.
The Government speech writers and consultants have been kept busy as a week later today November 17, 2014 the Dr. Smith Administration will deliver the Budget Address to the people of the Virgin Islands this time outlining his spending priorities.
An NDP source close to the speech said that the Premier and Minister of Finance Dr. the Honourable D. Orlando Smith is expected to make two major announcements in the speech bringing relieve to taxpayers. When pressed for more details he declined to comment further.
When asked if the announcements expected from today’s budget address are in response to the bashing from Virgin Islands Party Chairman Honourable Julian Fraser RA, (R3) on how the NDP has left us worse off than we were three years ago, in his National Address the NDP source said “sometimes you have to respond to things without making specific reference to anyone…just listen to the speech,” he insisted.
Census report of 2010 to be released!
The long awaited 2010 Census and Housing report of the Virgin Islands will finally be laid on the Table of the House of Assembly today November 17, 2014 at the Second Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Second House of Assembly.
Also the Premier will make public his Government’s Medium Term Fiscal Plan 2015-17. There will be no questions posed by the Opposition in Parliament, as the Budget Address will be the main item today which is also referred to as the Appropriation (2015) Act 2014.
The House of Assembly will meet at its Chambers in Road Town the capital city on the main Island of Tortola. It will be carried live on CBN channel 51 at 10:00AM.
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25 Responses to “UPDATE: More taxes on residents! – 2015 Budget”
We will not forget what NDP has done to us for the past 3 plus years and that is final.
Don't come with your waste of time speech Mr. Smith. You are not worthy of the trust of the majority people of the Virgin Islands any more.
TODAY'S SPEECH SHOULD BE A VOTE OF NO CONFIDENCE IN DR. SMITH AND HIS GOVERNMENT.
I have to laugh at the 'tax the poor' bulls..t. You are not taxed until you pass the $10,000 mark. So low paid persons don't even start paying tax on their earning until later down in the year.
Of course the Premier missed the mark totally in the 2015 Budget. There are no financial reports from most government departments, because they have not reconciled their accounts in years. Why don't they conduct external audits, for especially PWD and the Hospital and see what will be uncovered. . The Budget is based on pure assumptions, that means that the Premier is making an A.. out of You and Me. There is absolutely no accurate accounting in most government departments. Government just give departments money when the HOD go before the SFC, talk a good game without any real evidence, and get all kind of money to do sh$$t with. In addition to the politicians blatant misuse of tax payers money, most government departments are culprits of mis-management and are not held accountable. How long will this ship stay afloat?