Minister Sinckler: Fiscal plan ‘working’
Wednesday July 27 2011 | 04:31 AM

Calypsonian De Announcer is not the only one who the Chris Sinckler plan is working for.

Weeks before he delivers his second Budget in about nine months, Barbados' Minister of Finance today said the fiscal medicine prescribed for the local economy was giving positive results, based on most recent figures released by the office of the Accountant General.

Sinckler said three months into the start of the 2010/2011 financial year, Government's revenues had increased by $43 million, while expenditure was down by $32.7 million.

The St. Michael North West MP was speaking in the House of Assembly this morning as the administration sought and received Parliament's approval to increase the Treasury Bill limit to $1.75 billion. This was intended to "assist government in the financing of its deficits shortfalls as part of our oval deficit financing strategy, and of course debt management strategy".

"Next month we will have an opportunity to present our Financial Statement and Budgetary Proposals and I will address a number of these issues at that time, but I think that it bears mentioning that our strategy for this particular recession is in fact working, continues to show a level of recovery that we are not satisfied with, but in the circumstances we can be justifiable comfortable that progress is being made," he said.

"It is not to say that the Government of Barbados...are sitting comfortably somewhere smiling believing that all is well, because frankly all is not well."

The minister said the financial outturn between April and June this year, based on the Accoutant General figures, represented good news. He said current revenue in that time was $584 million, an increase of (8.1 per cent) over the same period last year.

Additionally, taxes on incomes and profits was $206.5 million, $3.8 million more than collected in same period in 2010, corporation taxes declined by $1.6 million in same period, but this was not the final figure since information was still being awaited from two of the companies that usually contributed most.

Also increasing was the intake from property taxes, which grew from $1.9 million to $6.5 million, taxes on goods and serviced increased by 16.4 per cent to $300.8 million compared with same period last year. Sinckler also said while "preliminary" figures from the Central Bank indicated a decline in Value Added Tax receipts, latest information showed Government had taken in $228.3 million in VAT, an increase of $37.8 million between April and June.

Government's revenue streams also increased in other areas, namely excise duties (increased by $12.7 million), duties on imports (up $5.1 million), and non-tax revenue ($200,000).

On the other hand, the official said officials were equally pleased that spending was down in the early part of the financial year. Current expenditure during that time was $647.4 million, including $400,000 less spent on wages and salaries, $2.6 million less on goods and services, current transfers decreased from $218.6 million to $190.7 million, and capital expenditure was $19 million compared to $21.8 million. Total expenditure between April and June was $717.4 million compared to $966.7 million for 2010.

"So it means that on both sides of the equation, the government's programme has steadied itself, is going in the right direction, on the right trajectory and therefore is the programme that we believe will work and is working to ensure that we bring down our fiscal deficit," Sinckler said.

"It is showing that for the first few months of this financial year we are going to be on track. I am not going to show all of my hand today, if that is what you all are expecting, but I felt that for the public record that people in Barbados, who believe it is their fundamental responsibility to mislead people and to reduce confidence...by spreading misinformation... in this economy ought to be called out for what they are."