7 highlights of the 2024 Budget

Finance Minister Colm Imbert has presented the budget for fiscal 2024 in the House of Representatives.
As he laid out the allocations for each sector, the Minister expressed optimism over projected economic growth and the resilience of the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund (HSF).
He said: “I am confident that the estimates under this budget framework will materialise and ensure that the economic recovery is anchored on sound and stable macroeconomic conditions.”
See highlights from the Minister's budget presentation below:
Total Revenue $ 54.012B
Expenditure $59.209B
Oil revenue: $16.709B
Non-oil revenue: $35.547B
Capital Revenue: $1.756B
Projected deficit of $5.197B (2.7 per cent of GDP)
Education & Training $8.022B
Health $7.409B
National Security $6.912B
Works and Transport $3.394B
Public Utilities $3.018B
Rural Development and Local Government $1.825B
Agriculture $1.442B
Housing $1.165B
Social Development $5B
Tobago: $ 2.585B
1. Government proposed an increase in the national minimum wage to $20.50 from $17.50 per hour.
2. The collection of property tax from residential owners is set to begin in fiscal 2024.
3. A total of 65,000 students in need will receive $1,000 grant for books and uniforms.
4. A total of $357M in housing projects will start this year. 
5. An online payment ecosystem is being developed to allow for the payment of taxes as part of the drive to a digital economy.
6. Strategies to assist SMEs to gain improved access to forex will be implemented in fiscal 2024.
7. Government will allocate $90M for the purpose of procuring four container scanners at the Port of Port-of-Spain.
(Source:  The Loop, October 2, 2023) 

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