From Premier of the Cayman Islands, Hon. McKeevea Bush

I repeat what I said yesterday (26).  We have gone as far as we can go with the budget – this has been finalized. The FCO know the broad parameters of the budget. They understand what we have here, they have acknowledged the high quality of services provided by the government of the Cayman Islands. They have said plainly that it is remarkable what we are doing but to sustain it, a better balance must be found: expenses must be cut, but revenues must also be enhanced.

They know of the Directors fee that was submitted in June – but they were not satisfied with that alone. They asked for, and would not be satisfied with anything but a broadened revenue base that was to them, “sustainable”.

To meet that demand we proposed the Community Enhancement Fee. They know of the revenue projection of that proposal. The FCO economist went back to London with that knowledge.

The Private Sector has asked and demanded that the civil service be cut.

I repeat now what I said yesterday – the governor of this territory is responsible for the civil service not the Premier – I do not hire – nor fire – nor do we sign any contract for any employed civil servant. The Governor himself is better able to explain why the civil service levels are so high.

Although the Leader of the Opposition makes the claim that government has not cut expenses, it his usual way of not telling the truth. I again repeat what I said yesterday.

We are cutting the expenditure that will bring about a change in the benefits of the civil service. They will now pay part of the cost of their health benefits. The post Hurricane Ivan housing allowance for police and prison officers has also been cut. Any new civil servant hired in the future will have to contribute to pensions and health benefits. These are things the Premier can participate in, so expenditure has been cut – but I cannot cut the civil service numbers.

If the governor makes a recommendation to the Elected Ministers – then I can be the judge as the Minister of Finance on what I will or will not submit as reduction in the emoluments.

The Leader of the Opposition has also come out to mislead the public on this matter. He has suggested a VAT, or Property Tax, and that Payroll Fees can be extended to Caymanians.

Everyone knows that I rejected VAT, income, and Property Tax, and Payroll Taxes across the board in 2009 – I still do! His suggestion is nothing but him trying to gain points from this situation, this financial mess with the FCO in control, that he created.

If I had any intention to hit Caymanians harder than they are being hit already – I would have included them in this proposal. They are not included – for all the reasons I have stated many times.

A VAT Tax would be disastrous for these islands, so would Property Tax, which the Leader of the Opposition now embraces. Well he can go ahead – based on my stated Policy and core principles, I will NOT introduce any such taxation.