Dominica gets 967.8 million dollar budget for fiscal year 2020-2021

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit presented a budget of 967.8 million dollars for the fiscal year 2020-2021

Wednesday, 29th July 2020

Prime Minister and Minister of Finance, Dr Roosevelt Skerrit presented a budget of 967.8 million dollars for the fiscal year 2020-2021 on Tuesday. The budget was presented in the house of parliament with the presence of all assembly members of the house. The highest budget allocation is assigned to the Ministry of Finance, with a total sum of $245.7 million. At the same time, the Ministry of Education, Human Resource Planning, Vocational Training and national Excellence will receive the second largest allocation of $74.4 million. The Ministry of Health, wellness and New Health Investment is placed third with an allocation of $59.9 million or 9.9 percent of the total recurrent budget of the fiscal year 2020-2021. Similarly, the Ministry of Public works and digital economy is allocated $52.3 million, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Business and Diaspora Relations has been allocated $20.5 million, and the Ministry of Tourism International Trasport and Maritime Initiative has been allocated $17.5 million. The Caribbean island had proposed its highest budget for the fiscal year 2019-2020, marking it to over a billion dollars; however, the budget has been present lower compared to the previous as COVID-19 played a major factor in this tourist country's economy. Education and Training $74.4 million has been allocated to the education sector. Prime Minister stated that an amount of $4.2 million grant would be settled shortly to benefit several young people to provide the space required to further invest in themselves and the country. Furthermore, the construction and rehabilitation of schools damaged during Hurricane Maria will continue. The Prime Minister stated that the government of Canada has also committed to assisting Dominica in rehabilitating five schools, while the People's Republic of China is committed to construct the Calibishie, Thibaud, Tete Morne primary schools, the Goodwill Secondary School, and extend the Bellevue Chopin and Sineku primary schools. To effect the commencement of these projects, letters of exchange were signed between representatives of the Government of Dominica and the Government of the People’s Republic of China on May 20, 2020. Health The Prime Minister made it clear that the hospitals are not being privatized and will remain public health facilities with a governance management structure that will give greater focus to the improvement of the delivery of health care, in an efficient and cost-effective manner. The construction of Marigot hospital is also promised to be completed in April 2021. The new Marigot Hospital will occupy 55,800 square feet and will be fully equipped with an operating theatre, ICU, in-patient wards, A&E, lab services, dialysis unit, x-ray services, among other services. Provision has also been made for staff quarters and parking. As per the leader, four of the twelve modern, resilient health centres promised in last year’s Budget, have been completed, while the work in Mahaut and Wesley will be completed in August, Bagatelle and construction work Penville and Anse de Mai have commenced. Besides this the construction in Colihaut, Soufriere and Newtown is expected to begin in September, having finalized all the outstanding land issues. Dominica Housing The government is ensuring its commitment of housing the nation announced $117.4 million funding for building over 450 houses in the fiscal year 2020-2021 with proceeds from the Citizenship by Investment Programme. The total amount of funding will include $25 million from the World Bank under the Housing Recovery Project and $10.6 million in grant funding from the European Union. Along with that Prime Minister announced 50 climate-resilient houses in the Kalinago Territory. Prime Minister also took an initiative to provide local employment as he has made a firm decision that all the kitchen cabinets and closets, shall be manufactured by local furniture makers. Tax Amnesty • Increased the income tax personal allowance from $12,000 to the present level of $30,000. • Reduction in tax rate by 5 percent in every band, and have made some adjustments to the lowest band • Reduction the corporate tax rate by 5 percent •Allowed for deductions on interest paid on student loans, and have more than doubled the deduction allowed for mortgage interest The International Airport Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit stated that progress has been made towards the construction of International Airport and necessary property surveys are completed. The cabinet has also approved the acquisition of 213 properties out of 47 farms. The leader added that the market value of these listed properties is $50.7 million, and negotiations are going with 25 property owners and payments would be made in August 2020. The geotechnical surveys are also expected to undertake in September 2020. Digital Transformation of Dominica The digital economy had been the primary point of pull in Dominica Labour Party’s manifesto “Dynamic Dominica” released during elections. Keeping up on it, Prime Minister emphasised on developing youth with the digital economy of the “Future”. $75 million has been secured to help finance the digital transformation. “$75 million being invested in the youth, to assure them, especially those now at university and other schools, of increasing opportunities for them in this emerging economy,” said Prime Minister. The digital transformation will also complement the complete upgrade of the Government’s telecommunications infrastructure and network which began last year. Digitalisation will benefit in improving business efficiency, and it will also increase the range of online services allowing people to pay bills online and broader access to government services. Tourism To ramp up and refocus marketing efforts, the budget has been increased to $13 million. The necessary budgetary allocation has been provided to the relevant Ministries to effect product upgrades to the island’s top ten most visited sites, as well as the capital required for the commencement of works on the vendors' arcade at Wotten Waven. Support to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises A simplified tax system for small businesses will be implemented to reduce the tax system for small businesses. However, the new systems will be implemented by January 2022. Decriminalisation of Marijuana The decision of decriminalising Marijuana has been taken at a certain level. A draft of the Drugs (Prevention of Misuse) (Amendment) Bill 2020 is being finalized and will be presented to parliament at its next sitting. It will provide, among other things, for the decriminalization of possession of 28 grams of Marijuana or less. Introduction of Dominica Entrepreneurship Visa Programme Under the Dominica Entrepreneurship Visa programme, foreign investors who start a business in an approved sector, or who invest in an existing approved local business, or pursue the option of a joint venture with a local business owner, will be granted resident status. As per the government, the introduction of this initiative will result in the creation of jobs, and assist with the further expansion of the economy. Concessions to Registered Tour Operators • Duty-free concessions on materials, equipment and supplies, to support the implementation of the new health and safety protocols; • Livelihood support grants to former employees and self-employed individuals; • access to a COVID loan facility at a highly concessionary rate of one percent • Deferment of principal and interest payments, for one year and six months respectively for those who benefited from the post-Maria special facility at the AID Bank Introduction of Property Tax Finance Minister, in his budget speech, introduced Property Tax, which will be imposed only on vacant and abandoned properties “Which pose health hazard”. “The government wishes to send a signal to owners of these properties that now is the opportune time to put them (properties) into productive use, to contribute toward the development of our country.” In the first phase, the tax will be implemented on the vacant and abandoned properties in the Roseau city and other urban areas of the country. Temporary reduction in land transfer fee: For the period of 1 year starting from September 1, 2020, to August 31, 2020, the fees related to Transfer or purchase of a property will be reduced by 48% which is as followed: Stamp duty – 2%, Judicial Fee – 1 %, Assurance Fund – 1%, The fee to Lawyers – Maximum of 1 ½ percent. The buyer will pay a total of 5 ½ percent tax instead of 10 ½ percent. Grants to first time Home Builders Government has set aside $1.5 million to support persons under the age of 40 years, whose annual income is less than $100,000, who has never owned a home before and are interested in acquiring a home of their own. The support will be provided in the form of grant vouchers to a maximum of $10,000 per home for the purchase of building materials or to be put towards transfer fees for the purchase of a new house. To qualify, first time home builders must present copies of building plans approved by the Physical Planning Division and must have commenced construction with the secured financing required to complete construction of the building where they intend to reside. In the case of first-time buyers of a home, a notice of intention to sell must be presented along with evidence that financing has been secured. These grants will be available from October 1, 2020, and be administered by the Ministry of Youth Development and Empowerment, and is expected to benefit 150 of our young people.