AFTER a thorough five-hour budget presentation, more than 40 hours of policy debate, and in excess of 40 hours of scrutiny from the political opposition, the National Assembly on Thursday afternoon approved the landmark $552 Billion budget to drive Guyana’s social and economic transformation forward.

Following the wrap-up of the consideration, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with responsibility for finance, Dr Ashni Singh, reported to the National Assembly that the estimates were thoroughly considered in the Committee of Supply.

He also moved for an amendment to Guyana’s tax laws allowing for many of the measures provided for in the Appropriation Bill (2022), commonly referred as Budget 2022, to take effect.
Budget 2022 was presented under the theme, “Steadfast Against All Challenges, Resolution in Building Our One Guyana.”

A statement from the Finance Ministry on Thursday said: “Budget 2022 is 44.3 per cent larger than Budget 2021 and will include the first withdrawals (in the amount of $126.7 billion) to be made in keeping with the new and strengthened legislative framework governing the 2021 Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act.

This amount from the NRF will be transferred to the Consolidated Fund. Importantly, Budget 2022 is being financed without the introduction of any new taxes and without excessive borrowing.”

The statement noted key measures which emerged from the budget which outlines the People’s Progressive Party/Civic government’s policies and programmes to thrust Guyanese forward into greater social development, and the country forward as a burgeoning petroleum-producing state climbing to prominence in the international system.

“Key measures in Budget 2022 include a strong focus on local content and job creation, especially in keeping with the December 2021 Local Content Act passed in the National Assembly, support for renewal of the industrial and commercial transport fleet, removal of 14 per cent VAT from cranes, safety equipment and oil spill response equipment, removal of two per cent withholding tax on resident contractors to reverse the punitive measures implemented by the previous administration, easing the cost of living through the extension of the application of the freight cost adjustment for the calculation of import taxes…

“[There will also be] a further excise tax rate reduction on gasoline and diesel from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, support for the vulnerable through the introduction of a Dialysis Support Programme to finance treatment for dialysis patients, an increase in the monthly public assistance payment from $12,000 to $14,000, an increase in old age pension from $25,000 to $28,000, increasing disposable income through a $25,000 ‘Because We Care’ cash grant for each child attending both private and public school and an increase in the monthly income tax threshold from $65,000 to $75,000,” the Finance Ministry statement read.

Budget 2022 is the first budget that will benefit from financing from the proceeds of Guyana’s new and emerging oil and gas sector, following the historic passage of the Natural Resources Fund (NRF) Act, which addressed the most “offensive deficiencies” of the predecessor Act.

Pursuant to the provisions set out in the new NRF Act, Budget 2022 projects a withdrawal from the NRF and transfer to the Consolidated Fund of $126.7 billion.

The people-centred budget, which has no new taxes, places heavy emphasis on ensuring that people have access to the highest standards of social services, including health care, water and sanitation, and that basic protection and support are offered to the most vulnerable in Guyana’s society, particularly the elderly and the young.

On this note, in addition to a wide range of public investment projects and initiatives which will stimulate economic activity, create jobs, and thereby generate incomes, Budget 2022 proposes specific measures aimed at providing support to both businesses and households, with the same objectives of job creation and income generation and, ultimately, improving well-being.