PLP: ‘We Reduced Taxes, Cut Spending & Deficit’
The figures released by the Ministry of Finance show that “the PLP Government was successful in its aims of reducing taxes, cutting spending, and reducing the deficit,” a statement from the Opposition PLP said.
They were speaking after yesterday’s [Jan 16] press conference by Finance Minister Bob Richards about the state of the island’s finances.
Saying the finances were “every bit as bad as we had feared it might be when we were on the outside,” the new Finance Minister said there will be some changes going forward.
He said budget allocations to ministries will be “ironclad,” and that while keeping the OBA’s election promise not to lay off civil servants, Government will be commencing discussions with the unions to identify ways to reduce government’s personnel costs.
25-minute video of Minister Richards’ press conference:
The PLP released a statement which said: “The figures also show that government’s finances for the last fiscal year were $39 million dollars better than the previous figures released by government.
“In February 2012, the Ministry of Finance projected that the budget deficit for the last fiscal year (2011/12) would be $268 million however the figures showed that the deficit came in at $229 million which is $39 million less than projected.
“The figures also show that the PLP government reduced total government spending by $102 million in fiscal year 2001/12 when compared to the previous year. The $229 million deficit is smaller than the deficit in the previous year even though revenues fell by $83 million which was party a result of payroll tax reductions and special concessions to retailers.
“The figures also project that the current fiscal year deficit is expected to be $198 million. This would represent 2 consecutive years of deficit reduction by the PLP Government. The PLP is hopeful that the OBA Government will continue the PLPs work to reduce the budget deficit, and looks forward to the Budget debate next month,” the statement concluded.
And also please highlight the taxes which have been cut…
“Looking forward, Senator David Burt has, remarkably, stated that there will be no reduction in Government spending for the next three years.”
But yet in teh above article Mr. Burt now claims that the PLP actually reduced spending. Interesting, but predictable.
The above quote is from a November RG article right after the throne speech.
Where did you get the first quote from? Don’t see it in the story.
Where’s Paula? Is she the Shadow Minister now? Or just a shadow of the past?
That shows ended…. It’s gonna get more and more frustrating to Bermudians when reality is released. I know it’s the PLP’s job to defend and continue trying to put themselves in a shining light; but its follow-up comments like these that get me more pissed off at what they have done (or in some peoples mind, was unable to control).
Cox and her gang of 12 are cruising now….done their part, now eligible to collect a fat pension at our expense….OBA should revise that MP pension scheme, cut 50%. Why should those who put us in this mess benefit from their poor performance.
She was last seen on a beach somewhere, head still firmly stuck in the sand, but with both hands held out collecting Premiers pension, all the while hoping Bermuda will forget her.
@ TD my bet is that Richards will fix that scenario. Average Bermudians have their my azz in a sling, quality of life, even employment, all on the edge because of poor policies and outright mismanagement. I’m not part of the St. Kitts club so I don’t have anywhere to run.
Silly!
The ones that would have been collected on the payroll for jobs lost because of companies either going out of business or moving their operations to another location.
whoops, that was supposed to be in reply to BG 9.39 am
well it surely wasn’t import tax..food has gone through the roof expensive!
Burt’s logic is a bit like “I was planning to go to Vegas for a week, but now I changed my mind, so I ‘saved’ $5,000.”
You can imagine the spin and bs the PLP would be talking today if they had won. The PLP were slowly killing Bermuda. Praise God they are gone!!!
The debt ceiling is about to be raised by your precious OBA! I guess we’ll sit back as they condemn us straight to HELL under Bob Richards. There is a silver lining, my God is awesome and the PLP will be back a lot SOONER than you think! Bless you
Eyes wide shut. You made the mess. Now someone else has to clean it up. The plp never balanced the checkbook they just kept writing checks.
Yah, Kinda like I win $1 on the lottery every week…
by NOT playing!
Just think how much they could have saved Bermuda…
by NOT being the Government!
Bermuda was(is) in complete financial free fall headed for the bottom! It seems the PLP is relieved to hear whats actually happening! noone had a clue at all!
Let me see if I got this straight, the PLP wants to be pat on the back for presenting a budget where originally said they would be a balance, then later on the balance changes to a deficit, then finally when we get a new party in power and they tell us that the deficit is slightly less then last projected, the PLP wants to be congradulated of that news???
Good lord, with that same rational we can say the NAZI’s weren’t really that bad because at the end of the war, they kill far fewer jewish people they they projected at the start of the war.
Hahaha….. My thoughts exactly. PLP wants a pat on the back after they allowed the horse to bolt. Their only contribution to addressing Bermuda financial disaster they were a part of creating was when it got so bad it could not be covered up any more.
Our last Finance Minister was always quoting all the things she did for Bermuda? Sorry, you own this mess and WILL go down in history as the worst Finance Minister Bermuda had.
Just be relieved it’s a none factor on your resume as it was never your field of profession.
SMH
hahah – wish we had a like button on here!
“The total revenue raised by the consolidated fund for fiscal 2011/12 was approximately $914.2 million, while current expenses were $1.246 billion.”
Is this how you define “success”? You must think we are imbeciles.
Just stop PLP, just stop. You created this mess.
The PLP did not want the public to know how bad things really were. They wanted power and all the perks at any cost, to the detriment of Bermuda. Wait until the forensic accountants have finished tracing all of the cost overruns on projects.
More outright blatant LIES from the People’s Lying Party.
Their record has already spoken volumnes and no more needs to be said about the PLP’s total lack of fiscal ability, knowledge, integrity, etc…
RLMAO i chiked on my oatmeal this morning with this joke ! RLMAO
Less of a deficit is still a deficit-dumb ass PLP…
2+2 = 5 as well I guess…
But wasn’t the minister of finance the premier?? Hmmm, of course they will say that…
Oh LORD!! Somebody get me a new keyboard, please! Soup and electronics don’t mix!
PLP: How about we wouldn’t have had a deficit at all if you hadn’t started spending more than revenues in the first place.
Please, just STOP!
Can someone please enlighten to me as what taxes have been reduced?
That’s genuinely remarkable. I mean, I know the PLP are happy to make pretty outrageous statements, but come on.
“We’d like the Bermudian people to acknowledge that while we seriously damaged the Bermudian economy, the level of that damage is actually less than we originally thought. So we deserve credit for doing less damage than we thought we were going to do.”
It’s like saying “Look before you get mad at me having stolen $100 from you, keep in mind that when you first checked your wallet, you thought I’d stolen $200. So really I’ve saved you $100.”
It’s magnificent. That people can actually think like that is a testament to the sheer limits of logic.
Why all the talk of Pensions? Dr. Gibbons, Trevor Moniz and John Barritt are closer to receiving their parliamentary pensions than Paula Cox is! Do you even know how a parliamentarian qualifies to receive a pension or you just making this up to try and have something to say?
But Cox’s pension is vested, their’s aren’t. One of them isn’t even in the government at all. And her pension is based on what she earned as Premier & Finance Minister. Their’s won’t be (unless they become Premier and Finance Minister). And even then, Ministerial salaries have reduced since the OBA got in, so the resulting pensions will be commensurately lower.
Interestingly, Cox’s pension rights fully vested about a month before the election. How coincidental and fortunate for her.
WHAT A LOAD OF VERBAL DIARRHEA !
The gift of gab can lift you or sink you. No matter what big n extravagant words maybe used in ur speeches, most Bermudians really did not understand; BUT!!!they recognized that the words could not bail us out n the PLP sold us out. Oh PLP!!! Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water…..OOPS….the whole island was thrown.
Well look @ the position we find our island in….!
Does PLP have more money combined, then this new Government has? Just asking!!!
PLP Logic………………the older I get the better I was.
PLP: ‘We Reduced Taxes, Cut Spending & Deficit’
That is one load of crap.