According to a recent Government Information Service (GIS) press release, the success in raising additional revenue through measures proposed in the Government’s 2006-2007 Budget is a ‘one off’.
Government will not make it a normal practice to obtain extra funds in this manner, the release said.

“The public should be assured that this level of revenue will not be a re-current feature of Government’s annual budget,” said Hon Kenneth Jefferson, the Financial Secretary in his address.

The Strategic Policy Statement (SPS) that outlines government’s budgetary objectives and the reasoning behind them called for $25 million in added revenue during this financial year and $3 million in the 2007-2008 period.

The SPS was tabled and passed by the Legislative Assembly last November.

In October 2005, during presentation of the 2005-2006 Budget, the Financial Secretary had said that Government would not introduce new revenue measures unless they were linked to new projects or services.

The money to be raised in the 2006/7 financial year and in the 2007/8 financial year is for servicing Government’s extensive capital projects. Mr Jefferson said that the SPS projection of $25 million needed in extra revenue was reduced to $23.3 million because current income sources had been performing better than expected.

In deciding upon revenue measures to raise the extra money, Government sought the opinion of leaders of businesses. “Quite a lot of the revenue measures we are proposing were suggested by the private sector,” Mr Jefferson said.

Those consulted were the Law Society; Bankers’ Association; Fund Administrators Association; Society of Professional Accountants; Real Estate Brokers Association; Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners; Company Managers Association; and the Chamber of Commerce.