Estimates Of Expenditure To Be Tabled In May

The Estimates of Expenditure for the 2012/13 financial year will be tabled in May, 2012.

This was disclosed by Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon. Dr. Peter Phillips on Wednesday March 28, during the meeting of the Special Committee on Tax Reform held at Gordon House.

“The budget is going to be delayed because of the change in administration and the discussions with the International Monetary Fund,” Dr. Phillips informed.

In the meantime, the Finance Minister urged the tax reform committee to have the report prepared and completed before the end of April.

“We have to prepare and complete the report by the end of April. We have a Green Paper that we have been asked to report on. We have heard the submissions and we are going to need to make a report to the Parliament on the basis of the submissions in keeping with the particular proposals in the Green Paper, so we will have to respond,” Dr. Phillips said.

“What we would want is for it to be considered here in the full House and for Cabinet to have the benefit of that report in preparation of a White Paper tax policy report, which would need to be presented at the time of the budget. We are on a very tight timetable,” he stated.

The Finance Minister further noted that the committee may need to hold meetings outside of those scheduled at Gordon House.

“I want to put this formally to the committee that we need to, apart from our meeting here, to take two days and formally move a motion that we be empowered to sit outside the precincts of the House to go through the proposals that are here,” Dr. Phillips said.

The Estimates of Expenditure, which provides details of recurrent and capital expenses, is normally tabled and debated on in April, the beginning of the new financial year.