Says he will make his own assessment of govt.’s budgetary performance
NASSAU, BAHAMAS – Opposition Leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis told Eyewitness News yesterday that despite government’s recent report that there was an increase in revenue, the government could not be trusted and he, therefore, needed to make an assessment of his own.
Davis said following his assessment, he would then be able to give an objective view of what he feels the figures represent.
The Ministry of Finance on Thursday released its ‘first six months report’ on budgetary performance from July to December 2018.
The document showed an increase in revenue due to the increase in value-added tax (VAT), but according to Davis, “only lazy minds raise taxes to increase revenue”.
According to the six-month fiscal budget, the Minnis Administration collected just over $1 billion from July to December 2018.
VAT collection is up at $399 million, compared to the $318 million that was collected during the first six months of the previous fiscal year. This is an increase of 81.2 per cent.
The government has projected that it will collect a little over $1 billion in VAT this fiscal year.
Stamp taxes on financial and realty transactions more than doubled with the government collecting $107.7 million dollars.
“Instinctively, if you raise taxes and citizenry are tax compliant, you will expect that your revenue will increase,” Davis said.
The Opposition leader told Eyewitness News Online that once he receives the report, he will review it to determine the factors to which the government is now “bragging about”.
