The Prime Minister will present the budget next week Friday in Belmopan. Depending on when the election is called, it may be the last budget of this term of office. And leading up to that, today, Prime Minister Musa and National Development Minister Mark Espat hosted a meeting of the National Economic Council at the Central Bank in Belize City.
The NEC has representation from civil society and business organizations.
Numbers presented by government to the meeting show that you paid more in tax revenue in the last fiscal year, than at anytime previously.
Tax revenue was $528 million, $15 million more than what was projected and $56 million more than the previous year - a more than 10% increase in tax revenue. A large portion of that spike is due to the performance of the GST which, looking at the end of year figures, is not revenue neutral after all.
And government expects to collect even more in the next fiscal year, when it aims for $593 million in tax revenue - another more than 10% increase.
And while Belizeans are more taxed than ever, those added tax dollars have translated into the lowest deficit in years. The overall deficit is 3.1% of GDP, still higher than what government hoped it would be, which was 2.9% of GDP.
But in the coming fiscal year, government expects that nearly $600 million in tax revenue to assist in producing the lowest deficit in over a decade - less than 1%.
Despite the economic slowdown, the GDP showed growth of 3.5%.
