With an aim of continuing the government’s development agenda, Finance Minister Dr. Ashni Singh presented a $781.9 Billion budget to the nation on Monday.

In a five and a half hour speech that was punctuated with sips of honey and water, the Finance Minister said the Government intends to continue on its path with major initiatives to further push economic growth.

The budget caters for billions of investment in roads and bridges, education, health and social programmes.

A menu of measures were announced that the government hopes will stabilise the effects of the cost of living and rising inflation.

While there is no reduction in the value added tax, the 14% VAT will be removed from the importation of all new electric vehicles and the sale of residential properties.

The duty on new vehicle that are less than four years old and below 1500cc will see a reduction in the excise tax by 10%. Older vehicles that are also below 1500 cc in engine size will now attract a flat rate of tax of $800,000.

In terms of social programmes, the Old Age Pension will be increased by $5000, from the current $28,000 per month to $33,000 per month.

Public Assistance will be increased by $2000, taking that up to $16,000 per month.

It was also announced that more working persons will find themselves out the tax net as the income tax threshold has been increased by $10,000 to $85,000 monthly.

For parents looking for government support, the Because we Care cash grant will continue and under the new budget, each child in the private and public education system will benefit from an increase in the cash grant.

The annual grant will be increased from $25,000 to $35,000 plus an annual school uniform fee of $5000 will be made available.

The Government’s part-time job initiative will continue this year and $10 Billion has been allocated to cover the salaries of those persons to be hired for part time government jobs.

This year’s budget will see over $136 billion being spent on roads, $54 Billion will go towards the housing sector, $94 Billion is to be spent on education, the health sector will receive an injection of $84.8 billion and more than $58.6 billion is to be spent on public safety and security.

The budget also caters for a number of initiatives and programmes that the government believes will put more money in the pockets of citizens.

The economy grew by 62.5% last year and is projected to grow by 25% this year, according to the Finance Minister.

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