Government will present another deficit budget – Leacock

The Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure are scheduled to be presented in Parliament today — Tuesday.{{more}}

And Parliamentary Representative for Central Kingstown St Claire Leacock, an opposition legislator, said the government will again present a deficit budget.

Speaking yesterday on the New Democratic Party’s “New Times” programme on NICE Radio, Leacock, who, as MP, has a preview of the Estimates document, said that in the recurrent budget, the government will be looking to generate $508 million from revenue, but is looking to spend $622 million.

“And to say you have to pay interest and principal on loans and you have to put aside some in the sinking fund every month you will have to meet the wage bill,” Leacock said.

He explained that the wage bill should reach $310 million for the year, averaging $25 million each month.

“Now we are beginning to see if they don’t collect $25 million every month in taxes, then what is going to happen,” he said, adding that the public can expect the government to issue more and more treasury bills.

The Estimates were initially scheduled to be presented last Wednesday followed by the Budget, yesterday.

The Budget is now carded for January 14, 2013.

The delay in the presentation of the Estimates, Prime Minister Dr Ralph Gonsalves said, was the late arrival of the document to MPs and a number of other previous engagements.

He also mentioned the shoulder injury Leader of the Opposition, Arnhim Eustace sustained on November 8.

Gonsalves said he thought it would have been fair for some time to pass to allow Eustace to recover fully.

In 2012, the figure passed in the House was $793.9 million, a 0.9 per cent increase over the budgeted amount for 2011.

The recurrent expenditure in 2012 was $528,669,213 and capital expenditure was $184,915,470.

The re-current revenue totalled $507,334,600, representing a modest increase of 0.5 percent over the 2011 figure and capital receipts totalled $286,576,453.