This is the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama’s message when questioned on whether good news is coming for the people of Fiji as he gets ready to deliver the 2013 National Budget later today.
Commodore Bainimarama has been heading the National Budget discussions over the past few months and the government’s plans for next year will be revealed today.
The government will today reveal its main revenue measures and the level of taxes we have to pay.
We will find out what goes up or down as it will directly affect our pockets.
At the same time, the government will announce how it will utilize the tax dollars and its plan on the provision of government services.
Commodore Bainimarama said when a government begins to feel entitled to more and more of people’s earnings, then it begins to take their freedom.
He said the government believes that taxes are people’s willing contribution for the common good.
In this year’s budget, Fiji made historic reductions to all tax rates, including both corporate and personal tax rates.
The reduction in personal tax rates redirected $53.1 million into the pockets of taxpayers.
Commodore Bainimarama also said the reduction of the corporate tax rate from 28 percent to 20 percent means that businesses in Fiji now have more money to reinvest.
Meanwhile, there are high hopes amongst the members of the public that it will be a people’s budget today.
We caught up with some members of the public on what they expect in the budget.
Story by: Vijay Narayan, Sofaia Koroitanoa & Kevin Yuen
