BARBADIANS can expect the Budget by next month, says Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Chris Sinckler.
While not disclosing the exact date, Sinckler told members of the media yesterday that Cabinet on Thursday had “finalized the date” for the presentation of the Budget and he would be making an announcement “shortly”.
“It will be very soon . . . . We are not going past August. We have to do consultations with the social partnerships and the usual things we have to do before we actually get to the Budget,” he said.
When asked if the budget would be tax-free and if he was considering giving an ease to some sectors, the minister said he had three main objectives for the country.
The first, he said, was to reduce the current deficit.
“The second is a short to medium-term [plan]. It is to ensure that we can return the economy to a sustainable growth path as soon as possible, and the third, which underpins all of this, in the medium to long term, is to do major restructuring of the Barbados economy, which has not had any restructuring of any serious nature in the last 20 to 30 years,” he said. (MM)
