CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC—Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre has presented an EC$1.8 billion (One EC dollar = US$0.37 cents) budget to Parliament, announcing a continued tax amnesty and increased pension and housing relief for public servants.
In a nearly three-hour presentation on Tuesday night, Pierre, who is also Minister of Finance, told legislators that his administration will also implement measures providing relief for banana farmers, a one-off payment of EC$2500 to each of the 93 privately registered Early Childhood Centres to assist with the purchase of educational supplies and the introduction of a new minimum livable wage by August 1, this year.
Pierre said that the total current recurrent revenue and grants has been estimated at EC$1.5 billion, with total expenditure set at EC$1.89 billion.
Regarding the tax amnesty, Prime Minister Pierre told legislators that he had announced one last year, which was further expanded and extended from 2023 to May 1, 2024. “Unfortunately, the program has not been fully operationalized; therefore, more time will be required for taxpayers to benefit from it.
“Taxpayers are encouraged to make arrangements this fiscal year to take advantage of the benefits of the waiver of interest and penalties on outstanding taxes up to May 1, 2025. Waiver of Residential Land and House Tax ha, his administration has been speaking about creating a Sovereign Wealth Fund to create a multigenerational plan to safeguard future generations.
“We are pursuing this initiative and have employed experienced advisors to assist. The Cabinet will consider a memo to approve the way forward. I will update members on the progress of this initiative,” Pierre said.
He also said that St. Lucia is part of a digital revolution. Innovation and technology, including blockchain and artificial intelligence, clearly show that the future belongs to countries that can harness the new opportunities of the digital revolution.
“Mr. Speaker, we intend to work with interested parties during this fiscal year to introduce sandbox regime and innovation hub legislation to create the enabling environment for new technologically driven businesses,” Pierre said.
He said that as part of the government’s policy to encourage the construction of new residential homes and renovations to existing homes, stamp duty will be waived on mortgages up to EC$400,000 taken for either purpose.
The prime minister told Parliament. Currently, government pensioners earn EC$300 monthly. Effective August 1 this year, the minimum pension payable to government pensioners will be increased to EC$725.
“Government pension payments in the future will be linked to union-agreed negotiated salary increases for civil servants but not beyond the covered period of those negotiated settlements.”
He said that, at the government’s request, the National Insurance Corporation (NIC), in consultation with its actuaries, has also decided to increase its minimum pension to EC$500 per August 1.
“This means, Mr. Speaker, that from 1 August 2024, no government or NIC pensioner in this country will receive less than $500 per month,” Pierre said, adding that public servants will be entitled to 100 percent residential mortgages under the US$20 million Republic of China on Taiwan EXIM Bank’s new credit line facility, which the St. Lucia Development Bank is managing.
He said, in addition, the government will assist every successful applicant with an EC$1000 payment towards their legal cost.
Pierre said banana farmers recently affected by the shortage of boxes and packaging material will be entitled to a half-million-dollar shared compensation package administered by the Ministry of Agriculture.
He said that in keeping with the island’s commitment to climate change adaptation and mitigation, “we have received the approval from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) for the derogation of the import duty on hybrid and electric vehicles (EVs).
“This means that the import duty on these vehicles will continue to be five percent until November 20, 2025. We will continue to review concessions and incentives available for all renewable forms of energy.”
Pierre said that to augment the effectiveness of the government’s infrastructure program,” we will create two Project Implementation Units, one at the Ministry of Infrastructure and the other at the Office of the Prime Minister,” adding, “We are confident that these units will increase the rate of project implementation.”
In his budget address, Pierre was critical of the opposition and those he termed “their surrogates” regarding the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CBI), through which foreign investors are granted citizenship of the island in return for making a substantial contribution to its socio-economic development.
Pierre told legislators that “there has not been one issue with our CBI program. No one has raised any negatives regarding the due diligence of our program. Our program is now well-poised to deliver infrastructure in the form of roads, community centers, and hotels. “What is the opposition’s response? Its leader and his surrogates are all over the world spreading falsehoods and misinformation, encouraging adversaries of our island to denigrate our country.
“They do not care how these actions affect the prospects of employment for our youth, the implementation of Universal Health Care, the level of investment, or the impact of gun violence; this does not disturb their sleep or trouble their consciences. What matters is their selfish desires to be in control, victimize, and be in power.”
He told Parliament that foreign direct investment (FDI) has returned impressively, but “we are, however, concerned that the granting of approvals for significant investments is too lengthy.
“This year, we will enact legislation that will fast-track the approvals of large investments in all sectors that meet certain economic, environmental, and social criteria.”
He said the Diaspora Investment Bill, discussed last year and intended to encourage first—and second-generation people of St. Lucian descent living in the diaspora to invest in St. Lucia will be enacted.
“As we contemplate the World Bank review of our economic ratings, the government continues strengthening the economy and reducing the overall deficit. We have successfully returned to primary and current surpluses.”
Pierre said St. Lucia has experienced three years of sustained economic growth, which has reduced unemployment by eight percent and youth unemployment by 12 percent.
“We have reversed the lack of investment in our country and ensured that the benefits of tourism are being felt by the many and not the view,” Pierre said, noting that in 2021, the intention was to transform the economy to empower St. Lucians.
“We returned home, good governance, integrity, and economic growth to our country – our people are more confident and hopeful with a renewed faith in government as an instrument for good. In 2022, we tackled the neglect in health care and alleviated the social conditions of the poor and underprivileged while improving citizens’ security.”
Pierre said that in this year of infrastructure, he is satisfied that his administration has “undertaken sufficient policy initiatives and interventions to realize the objectives of greater efficiency, effectiveness, and responsiveness in our physical, social, and digital infrastructure.
“Alongside the realization of these infrastructural objectives, we can look forward to growth in major sectors of the economy, new job opportunities, with youth employment on the rise, increased social protection for the vulnerable, and growing confidence in the good governance of our country among potential investors and the international community. By the end of this fiscal year, St. Lucia is expected to be in a much better place,” Pierre added.
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