Despite the grave state of our finances Budget Day is January 16, 2017
According to information from the House of Assembly (HoA), the Fourth Sitting of the Second Session of the Third House of Assembly has been scheduled for Monday January 16, 2017 at its Chambers in Road Town.
The main item on the agenda is for Premier Smith to deliver the 2017 Budget Address to the Territory.
While this year the Budget deliberation is late, the Financial Management Act gives the Government up to April 30, 2017 (fourth month of each year) to have a spending bill in place. In the interim, the Smith Administration a few weeks ago received a provisional budget of $110M to keep the government running.
While it is customary for the Virgin Islands budget figure to increase each year, the public must be aware that it is only an estimate of expected revenues and expenditures, and the presented figure most often does not match the reality on the ground.
The 2016 Budget estimates were approximately three hundred and thirty million United States dollars ($330M). It is unclear what were the final year end revenues and expenditures, as the National Democratic Party (NDP) administration has not presented any audited financial statements since they took office in 2011.
The ritual of a Budget presentation in the HoA is the highlight of any Minister of Finance as well as the Government of the day.
15 Responses to “Despite the grave state of our finances Budget Day is January 16, 2017”
Waiting to see where the country heading.
April.