Historic $552.9B Budget passed in National Assembly

The National Assembly on Thursday passed the historic $552.9 billion 2022 budget – the largest ever tabled in the House and the first utilising Guyana’s newfound oil revenues.

The winding down of Consideration of Estimates and Expenditure came after the conclusion of five days of debates and four days of Committee of Supply meetings. Opposition Members of Parliament were presented with the chance to scrutinise features of the allocations made under every Ministry and sector.
Thereafter, the fiscal plan which was crafted under the theme “Steadfast Against All Challenges, Resolute in Building Our One Guyana”, was approved. It will govern the country’s spending and investments for the next year.
The National Budget presented to Parliament on January 26 was passed in Parliament following approval of the Appropriation Bill 2022 (Bill No 1 of 2022) and the Fiscal Enactment Amendment Bill (No 2 of 2022).
The Fiscal Enactment Amendment Bill, which was opposed by the APNU/AFC, would amend the various statutes to give effect to the measures in Budget 2022.
Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh told the House, “There are provisions in Budget 2022 that are intended to increase the income tax threshold. That measure was announced in the context of Budget 2022. It was adequately and abundantly ventilated during the course of the debate. This Bill now seeks to give legislative effect to that announcement. The Bill, similarly seeks to give effect to other tax measures announced during the course of Budget 2022.”
On Budget Day, Dr Singh had indicated that this year’s budget would be “historic” and “transformational.”
In fact, he was quoted as saying, “Budget 2022 – if I were to highlight a single sentence to describe Budget 2022 it would really be to say that it will be transformational in the sense that many of the big initiatives that we have alluded to in the manifesto, [and] subsequently in the major presidential speeches, one could easily get a good sense of the main priorities coming out of the manifesto.”
The budget is set to lay the foundation for Guyana’s massive economic transformation and modernisation. It also contained the use of the country’s earnings from the oil and gas sector for the first time to finance several major developmental projects. It was crafted with two main goals: to ensure the urgent development needs of the country are met in the shortest possible time and to guarantee the long-term economic wellbeing of the nation.
Among the anticipated measures announced aimed at addressing the rising cost of living is the increase of old age pension to $28,000 and the increase in public assistance to $14,000. Additionally, there is an increase in the “Because We Care” cash grant to $25,000 and an increase in the uniform allowance to $5000.
There is also a significant increase in the income tax threshold to $75,000. This will place an additional $1.3 billion into the hands of current taxpayers both in the public and private sectors.
Government has lowered the excise tax rate on gasoline and diesel from 20 per cent to 10 per cent, which will result in significant reductions in the price of fuel. There were significant reductions in the excise taxes for several categories of trucks and pick-ups.
Budget 2022, which is 44.3 per cent larger than last year’s and 36.6 per cent above total expenditure in 2021, is fully financed with no new taxes. One of the most unique features of Budget 2022 is that it proposes withdrawals from the US$607.6 million oil fund. With the entire $126.7 billion being used from the Natural Resource Fund (NRF) to partially finance the budget, earnings from this year will see the oil fund being replenished with over US$957.6 million.
Meanwhile, since the presentation of Budget 2022, stakeholders from various sections of society have lauded the Government’s fiscal plan, saying that it strikes a balance between public and private development as well as the enhancement of citizens.
In addition, President Dr Irfaan Ali has also described the budget as people-centred during a live broadcast to highlight its merits and how the policies outlined are interconnected to improve the lives of Guyanese.
According to the President, Budget 2022 lays the groundwork for further development, and he encouraged persons to look at it in a holistic manner. President Ali also spoke of how his Government’s fiscal plan for this year comprehensively addresses the day-to-day lives of Guyanese while also simultaneously detailing plans for national prosperity, job creation, expanding the economy and enhancing productive capacity. (G12)