News

Countdown to the 2018/2019 National Budget

June 28, 2018 4:57 am

It’s only a few hours left for the Government to announce their proposed revenue and spending for the next financial year.

At 7.30pm, Economy Minister Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum will deliver the 2018/2019 National Budget to the nation already hinting that it will be a responsible budget focused towards youth empowerment amongst other things.

Last year’s people’s budget pushed forward tax reforms and wage rises to get the country moving further toward enabling businesses progress, promote economic growth and prioritizing education and health care to improve Fijian livelihood.

Article continues after advertisement

We can expect a responsible budget that may be similar to the previous budgets which have laid the platform for the nation’s economic stability leading to nine years of economic growth.

The total expenditure for the 2017/2018 national budget stood at $4.4357 billion with a projected revenue of $3.85bn translating into a net deficit of $499.5m equivalent to 4.5% of GDP.

The main highlight of last year’s budget was the huge increase in the tax threshold aimed to stimulate the economy even further.

The big allocations for the 2018/2019 budget are expected to yet again be injected into education, the health sector, economic growth incentives and infrastructure.