Budget at a glance

• Effective July 1, a broad-based foreign exchange commission be charged on all sales of foreign currency at a rate of 2%. This will extend to, inter alia, all wire transfers, credit card transactions, and over the counter sale of foreign currencies.

• Adjustment to the national social responsibility levy commencing July 01, 2017. It is proposed that the social responsibility levy rate be increased to 10.0 per cent on all taxable imports and domestic production. The measure will effectively raise an additional $186 million from the increase in the NSR and an additional $32 million from VAT.

• Commission on the sale of foreign exchange sales by authorized dealers to be collected by the Central Bank. This measure will commence on July 01, 2017.

• Increase in Excise taxes on petroleum fuels to raise the excise on gasoline by 25 cents from $0.74 to $0.99 and the excise on diesel by 24 cents from $0.20 to $0.44.

• As part of government’s divestment strategy government will be able to realise net proceeds of $70 million from the sale of the BNTCL.

• Interest rate savings on the domestic debt held by statutory corporations

• Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs completing a comprehensive National Fiscal, Economic and Social Development Restructuring and Enhancement Programme, which will be published in the coming weeks, to focus on Boosting foreign exchange earnings, Productive sector reform focusing on reducing the cost of doing business in critical sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, finding appropriate mechanisms to capitalize emerging sectors such as cultural industries and Instituting a Competitiveness Commission and Operational Unit

• Implementation of the new national energy policy to accelerate the government’s plan to make Barbados energy independent by 2035 based on the extensive use of alternative energy while saving the country millions in foreign exchange

• Fiscal consolidation through: Public Financial Management reform including, the passage in Parliament of a new Financial Management and Audit (SOEs) Act to govern the financial affairs of government statutory boards and enterprises;

• SOE reform, including mergers, operational consolidation and divestment

• Completing the tax policy reform and tax administration upgrade project including the final transition of Customs into the BRA and the implementation of a single taxpayer IT system;

• Debt growth stabilisation and reduction through fiscal reform and debt management enhancement including debt profiling; and Social sector reform in critical areas such as health, education, sanitation, social care services and environmental protection.

• An additional period during which taxpayers can benefit from a waiver of penalty and interest on taxes owed to the BRA for land tax and Value Added Tax. The amnesty will run from June 1 2017 until November 30 2017

• A construction of a simple but effective VAT factoring programme to attend to this issue of VAT refund arrears.

• Divestment of the Hilton Hotel at Needham’s Point which is currently held under the portfolio of the Needham’s Point Holdings Ltd.