Mac refuses to cut CS jobs
Posted on Wed, 07/25/2012 - 19:10 in Politics
(CNS): In addition to a 10% tax of work-permit holders' income, the government will be introducing a directorship fee and another employment fee to firms employing foreign workers in jobs that could go to Caymanians in order to try and balance the 2012/13 budget. In a broadcast to the nation on Wednesday evening announcing the new payroll tax, Premier McKeeva Bush said he had refused to cut the 500-700 jobs needed for government to balance its books and had preserved the public sector workforce. However, the payback for that was the requirement that all civil service staff and their families will now make a contribution to their healthcare provisions and their pensions plans.
In a statement that demonstrated just how bad the state of government finances has become, the premier confirmed that, despite his promises to hold out on taxes, Cayman needed a new source of sustainable revenue and he would turn to direct taxation.
Although Bush claimed the so-called 'Community Enhancement Fee' was not an income tax, it will be calculated on the incomes and taken from the earnings of all work-permit holders who are paid more than $20K per year.
In what appeared to be an effort to soften the blow, Bush announced that employers of non-Caymanian workers and those employees would no longer be required to contribute to a compulsory pension scheme, cutting the burden to businesses.
Bush said that he had been under twin pressures from the UK to simultaneously cut spending and increase revenue.
“The FCO insisted that the Government strengthen its fiscal position by implementing a greater level of expenditure reductions,” he said. “The FCO is also of the firm view that the strengthening and improving of fiscal results for the Government must not occur solely as a result of reductions to expenditure, but revenues of the Government need serious enhancement and expansion.”
His statement listed vague references to savings in the public sector, such as cuts in marketing and the centralization of procurement. He also announced the sale of the police helicopter based on recommendations from the Expenditure Review Committee.
However, he said he had fought to hold on to benefits for veterans and seamen as well as assistance for churches and community projects.
There was, he said, a further request from London to reduce an additional $20 million “in areas of the budget which give grants to: Seamen/Veterans benefits, Social Services, such as the Elderly and Handicapped Persons benefits, temporary rental assistance and temporary financial assistance for persons who find themselves unemployed, Education Council Scholarships, grants to Community programmes such as apprenticeship programmes and church related programmes. To do this would truly make our community suffer much more than at present. I have refused that cut!” Bush stated.
As a result of a myriad number of announcements in the statement relating to the forthcoming budget, the premier said he would begin a serious of public meetings starting on Monday evening.
See premier's full statement below.
| Attachment | Size |
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| Premier's Budget Statement Wed 25 July 2012.doc | 500 KB |
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One of the areas that needs
One of the areas that needs to be urgently cut is ALL of that free travel on Cayman Airways by former employees and their whole families. That free education funding for all the UDP supporters children. It should be limited to 1 child per family, not every child of 1 family getting the free education funding. While others are being cut off by the Education Ministry because they could not make the 3.0GPA. No one knows their story why, perhaps the ministry should ask the students why and access, not just cut them off because they fell below the standard.
As a CS I disagree with the
As a CS I disagree with the cuts, why? because why should I sacrifice while Mac gets to keep his nation building fund, pension , salary, and all his other perks? A true leader makes sacrafices with their people. In WWII, King George VI and his wife were subjected to food rationings just like their subjects.
If the higher paid expats
If the higher paid expats have to pay tax and they leave the I sland we will be left with only poor ass people to make up our community. Cant some people see, Dont blame only Mack, but all his extension cords are just as guilty.
Where will these higher
Where will these higher expats that have to pay tax leave to go where they will not have to pay more than 10% taxes and make the same salary? Please tell me because me and my household will follow them. Yours for a better Cayman with or without taxes.
BVI Bermuda Panama TCI
BVI
Bermuda
Panama
TCI (Recently added VAT)
These are all fairly local. There are more, especially if you're willing to go to the other side of teh globe.
The better question is; other than the tax free status, what unique attribute does Cayman have to offer that will draw foreign money to the local economy. There are lots of other islands with beautiful beaches and some are even actually seven miles long or longer.
About a month ago I took a
About a month ago I took a job with my company in the US (west coast). Same role and title. At the moment after tax, retirement contributions, and healthcare contributions, my Cayman role is worth 3% more then the US role. After this tax (depending on whether Cayman treats healthcare contributions etc as pre-tax or not) the Cayman role is worth 7-9% less than the US role. I have loved my time here in Cayman, and am moving for family reasons primarily, but there seems to be a dangerous presumption that professional jobs here have significantly more financial reward then in other countries. They don't always. You do have "the beach" advantage for sure, but after factoring cost of living, etc, I couldn't say its been financially more rewarding.
Bush is an
Bush is an out-and-out coward. Votes first, and the economy somewhere down the list.
everywhere else in the world,
everywhere else in the world, gov expenditure(civil service) is being slashed.....
yet this buffonn promises no job cuts???????????
I have a huge problem with
I have a huge problem with Civil Servants having to pay for healthcare and pension because the richest developer in these islands is getting all kinds of concessions from my government and that's why me and many other CS who can't afford this now have to pay!! This is really, really unfair!!!
Where is the voice of the
Where is the voice of the dumb-founded Civil Service Assen in all of this mess??
My wife and I are regular
My wife and I are regular contributors to the NCVO, Pines Retirement Home, Humane Society, and PAWS. These are the ways we give back to the Cayman Islands and help to "enhance" the community. With the introduction of this payroll tax, our ability to help these specific (and needy) organizations will all but disappear.
OK-Will the civil servant
OK-Will the civil servant CINICO Payments include the right to go to private doctors?
It better dam well be!
"Mac refuses to fire
"Mac refuses to fire voters"
Great headline
If the CIG people (all of
If the CIG people (all of them) would pay their fair share Cayman would not need another tax to survive.
But no.
If the money (all of it) that CIG spends was auditable there would be a surplus enough to finish the schools and build YOUR OWN docks.
But no.
If the UK would just step in and manage the finances and still let Caymanian leadership do their part Cayman still yet has the resources to get back on top.
But no.
Why is that? Think hard and long. The reasons are easy to see and not hard to understand.
I am glad you said "all of
I am glad you said "all of them" because I have always paid my fair share and don't depend on government for anything.. I pay over CI$1,000 every month for private insurance coverage for my family and although we usually go to private doctors, on the odd occasion that we go to the GT Hosp I claim it from my insurance. There are many other civil servants who do the same so please do not generalise. What needs to be done is for the foreign workers without adequate insurance to be cut off from obtaining free health care at the emergency room at HSA for non-emergency issues. It happens and it would be good to have an audit done of that amount! They don't have adequate coverage but get treatment and guess who pays? You got it, governnment, i.e. us the people!
I rarely ever go to the
I rarely ever go to the hospital. I go to the private doctor almost all of the time. If they institute this, I'll just take my family off it and get private insurance since I don't use it anyway.
The problem is that there is some people that abuse the system and practically lives at the hospital.
so funny! the regualr
so funny! the regualr run-on-the-mill people commenting here have more sense than our MLA's. mabe one of you should run next year!
Definitely you should let us.
Definitely you should let us.
Cayman is now a COUNTRY
Cayman is now a COUNTRY with a rich resource' CAYMANITE"
What plan does government have to capitalize on that or are we going to let
an investor pirate come in and steal that from us too????????
Use commonsense and begin to export, or harvest and trade 'CAYMANITE"
You are sitting on a gold mine!
NO INVESTOR/THIEF/PIRATE OR EXTORTIONER SHOULD GET AN EXCLUSIVE ON
THIS EITHER, SO DON'T TRYING ANYTHING!!!
get rid of kx mainline (keep
get rid of kx mainline (keep express as it is needed) kx mainline is not...and get rid of the 'new' turtle farm....keep the old turtle farm.....I suspect that would go a long way...it would be hard no doubt but destroying the fabric of cayman is far worse in the long run.
The get rid of Cayman Airways
The get rid of Cayman Airways mantra keeps getting bleeted. But people conveinently forget a few essential benefits that Cayman Airways provides to the Cayman Islands.
1. Relatively low cost means for tourists to get to the Cayman Islands.
An absolutely essential feature for an island so dependent on tourism. The money that tourists arriving via Cayman Airways bring to the economy far outweighs the loss from the airline itself. Privatization of the national flag carrier will not provide the same low cost conduit. See Air Jamaica for example. And without the low cost competion from KX the other air carriers will ramp up thier prices rapidly. This will in turn make Cayman a less desirable tourist destination due to the travel cost.
2. Another oft forgotten, but critical need for Cayman Airways is for evacuation of the isalnds in case of hurricane. While it may be possible to bring in charters or some such on relatively short notice there is no guaranteed availability as there is with KX being owned by the government.
There are many things that should definitely be cut to curtail exsessive government spending. Over staffing and nonessential offices are ripe for being made redundant, but other services such as KX provide a greater benefit to the country than may appear on their individual balance sheets.
Premier says: "The
Premier says: "The rationalisation of remuneration in Statutory Authorities is expected to yield "savings" or expenditure reductions of $1.5 million".
So he is not cutting civil servants' salaries, but Statutory Authorities, who already contribute to health insurance are having salary cuts? Am I reading this right?
I tell ya what, that may be a
I tell ya what, that may be a brilliant idea fro there are "some" case of overpaid staff who dont think dont contribute and get handsomely paid. CNS an FOI on Statutory Authoity salaries would be very revealing.
YEP....SOME OF THEM MAKE MORE
YEP....SOME OF THEM MAKE MORE THAN THE PREMIER! LOL Check it out!
What I do not understand is:
What I do not understand is: there are may be 25,000 caymanian.How many civil servants and revenue really needed to serve them?
Civil servants do not only
Civil servants do not only serve Caymanians obviously. They serve all residents plus visitors immigration and customs).
So, he says No to cutting the
So, he says No to cutting the "hand-out" money, a mere 4million today in the grand scheme of things, and would rather introduce DIRECT TAXES in the Cayman Islands - which may cause us to lose untold millions tomorrow and well into the future.
He is so short-sighted he must have blinders on!
yea, Mac would rather keep
yea, Mac would rather keep his 'healthy voting pool' alive than our econamy. Afterall, he pays the churches and the economically deprived ( and then some). Fair exchange for a vote, I'd say! Sad!! Why does he continue to make exceptions and exemptions for revenue collection when our islands are BROKE??
Mac refuses to acknowledge
Mac refuses to acknowledge his complete incompetence as do his people. Its like watching stevie wonder drive a car. Funny as anything I have ever seen but also a little sad.there should be no doubt now as to the question: will the UK "have to" take over Cayman just to save it from themselves? Its that or a total breakdown of Cayman in the near future. $200 million a year for this tiny little nation and they still couldn't make it work.
you cut my job or wages i cut
you cut my job or wages i cut yo wotes ya feel me
Agree 100% with comments from
Agree 100% with comments from 06:14. As an ex-civil servant and pensioner, I can relate to your suggestions because I also made recommendations to improve revenues and expenditure but to no avail. Managers are scared to put forward recommendations and/or make decisions for fear of losing their jobs; and there is no political will to introduce sustainable measures that may cause some pain in the short term but greater gain in the long term because politicians are primarily concerned with re-election.
This situation has been brewing for years and finally the fat has hit the fire - UK is here !!! I am not surprised - I saw this coming and no one in authority would do anything about it. Everyone just keep doing "business as usual" politicians and top management alike - they are all to blame for the situation this country finds itself in. It is so sad that these decisions now will cause more divide between Expats and Caymanians; and if this 10% goes through why are expats Civil Servants exempted - the majority are highly paid.
They are exempted because
They are exempted because they are the ones who proposed it.
AHHHH... Sorted it out. all
AHHHH... Sorted it out. all my staff will make under 20k pa but i will be paying for their homes, schooling, health, food, car, gas, bar tabs, boat, vacations, some jewery and birthday, christmas presents for their families. Guess what , no tax for them and i dont have to pay pension. LOL
No work permits issued for
No work permits issued for under 20K that amount is below the poverty line and we will not import poverty so no worry no work permit paying under 20K how about that?
Can you imagine if Mac cut
Can you imagine if Mac cut 500-700 jobs? That is a horrible solution and I stand behind Mac, not a CS employee BTW. So the only solution is to find new ways to increase revenue and cut expenses. The problem is, and I'm an expert at finding measures in cutting costs and making businesses more profitable, CIG is a huge business and we all know there are many ways in which funds are being wasted but identifying them is another thing. If any of you think your up for the task then please stop rediculing Mac and run for office yourself if you think you can do a better job! Mac's job is not an easy one and I do not wish to be in his shoes, do you? It's far eassier to redicule then to find real world solutions to real world problems. I only wonder if Mac is seeking professional advice from anyone other than his constituants? Mac do your thing to the best of your ability, that's all you can do, people will always criticize.
Hope ALL Gov, including
Hope ALL Gov, including elected members, salaries will be examined &revised...it was only a matter of time before the bucket bottom fell out...collecting pension AND salary should NEVER be allowed!
Ya see what I see? Mac never takes responsibility fa any mess...it is either the fault of PPM, FCO & now willing to dump the responsibility of the CS on the Governor, but I bet when the financial position improves and we eventually get to a surplus in the budget, Mac will try to take the credit!!
Waving hand FRANTICALLY!!!!
Waving hand FRANTICALLY!!!! ME ME ME TEACHA....I KNOW WHERE>>>>PICK ME!!!
- Nation Building (I want to buy your vote) Fund
- Solar (I probably will not see the light of day after these allegations) Panels
- Home (I am tired of having to buy fridges now CIG can pay for them) Repairs
That's like huuummmm 25 million I believe.
MLA Salaries can be cut by 20%
No more double dipping pension and salaries
No more travel unless EMERGENCY which can be vetoed by the opposition leader.
Collecting the 6 Mil from Ryan another good thing.
Collecting back from the people who stole using the gas cards might help
Where else??? huuuummmm no more concessions unless approved by a 90% margin in the LA.
I am sure with more information I could find more money to be shaved.
Raise duty on luxury items
Raise duty on luxury items (expensive boats, cars) and reduce duty on food (bread, milk, baby supplies) - you would make money
Sell Boatswain's Beach! Even if you sold it for 1 dollar you would be saving what, 9million per year?
Promote Cayman Brac and Little Cayman more and have Cayman Airways stop into the Brac more times per week
Encourage produce and livestock growing in Cayman Brac and import more locally grown foods from there
The last two will help the Brac and Little become more self-sustaining, therefore less subsidy from public purse.
I'm from a Country where we
I'm from a Country where we pay tax everywhere and the Gov is in trouble too. So you can see it will not fix the problem. Need to cut the expenses. And little weekend trip at $75 000 on public purse
Most of the people with sense
Most of the people with sense are either unable to stand for office, or unwilling to taint their integrity by being in office with the corrupt MLAs that are already there.
Time to sweep out the entire LA.
In the meantime, the CS is over-staffed with the overpaid and under-worked, leaving the rest of us to pay down on the burden.
Thu, 07/26/2012 - 19:11, I
Thu, 07/26/2012 - 19:11, I agree with the first two sentences of your post but take issue with "In the meantime, the CS is over-staffed with the overpaid and under-worked, leaving the rest of us to pay down on the burden." The Civil Service is like any large organisation, made up of some lazy people, some hard workers and many others in between, however for people to continually attack the service and blame those workers, the majority of whom are overworked and underpaid, is just wrong. What you should call for is to have the lazy, overpaid ones identified and gotten rid of. The politicians are afraid to do that but it is what needs to be done. Nevertheless, this too will not solve the economic woes of the country. What needs to be done is for a radical change to take place in the way government's funds are being spent and or given away!
Bye bye Cayman. See you when
Bye bye Cayman. See you when you grow a brain.
Sorry, we don't have enough
Sorry, we don't have enough brains for that.
"It is a well-known fact that
"It is a well-known fact that the Civil Service is inefficient."...
Well, that statement is indeed a far-reaching conception.
But, having knowledge of the private sector, it's no better there, in general. (Ever tried calling a businessplace and getting a live person to help)?
However, the ghostly silence of the Civil Service Association on the issues (and common misperceptions) is again Deafening!!!
And your point is?? oh yes,
And your point is?? oh yes, in the private sector we make a profit, this is why my phone is automated, i don't need to hear some dumb ass grumpy person on the phone, oh forgot can you say Attitude as well. That's most Government Dept's for you right there, at least when you call my office the machine comes on , you put my name in and it rings my office. ohh and it's cheaper than paying someone, PROFIT$$$$$.
So cut the CS, make these people go get real jobs, not just sit on the Asses all day make a good salary, free health care etc..
Hey - you sound like be the
Hey - you sound like be the plumber I been waiting on for days.. can u give me a cell number instead!!
Since u have my deposit i not going to call no one else til u do your job!
All Right then, all I can see
All Right then, all I can see is people complaining, there is no Caymanian or expat suggesting a solution or recommending a solution.
My 2 cents are the past government put us in this debt, they borrowed 250mil in a year, increased the civil service by 33% and the average salaries in the civil service from approx. 50K per year to 70k per yr. Now we have Supreme Leader taxing people expats 10%, he should have done it at 5%.
The pension being cancelled for expats is a good think, but our Supreme leader has it wrong, it is not going to help me the small business man, what it really helps is the large business, eg, I have 3 employees and pay 5% 250pm per employee $750pm, $9,000pa, now let’s look at a large company with 150 employee’s (now I know pensions are less due to salaries under 60k) so let’s work on average $175pm that’s $26,250pm and $310,000pa in savings the company will no longer have to pay. BIG SAVINGS!!!
Maybe our leader should have looked at this and just said no more pensions for expats and Caymanians for one year, whoever everyone has to contribute these funds to Government. So let’s 25,000 people pay pension ( we some don’t, but for those who don’t large fines of say $25K per company, but actually fine them and send the labor office out to do their job), so 25,000 at an average of $150pm equates to $3,750,000pm and $45,000,000pa. NOT PERFECT BUT AN IDEA…. Budget covered……. OH and I am sure there is more than 25,0000 paying pensions.
Now the above is only for a year. What the government has to do in the next year look at cutting costs, possibly take away the following from the Civil Service;
A 10% in salaried employees making over 60k per yr.
MLA’s 20% decrease
Reduce cost of travel and training overseas, a majority of this can be done online, in fact screw you guys going away for meetings, SKYPE it’s free ( That’s what I do now and saves me 35k pa)
Collect a fees that are currently not being paid i.e. the Hyatt Hotel (wasn’t it 25k per day in fines), 3 yrs now, that’s approx. $27 million owed to us. If can’t pay, too bad, we now own it and sell it to Dart for $30 million.
Small fee but adds up, boats license, I pay mine but I put money on it that 90% of people don’t, now this is not much money but say 2,000 boats @ $250pa equals $500,000pa.
My email seems to be getting to long, so I’m off, but these are just a few ideas.
We need to assist all the donkeys……..stop bitchin
I’m sure I’m going to get a bitching from some people, but I don’t give a …… I VOTE!!!!! Just don’t know who to vote for anymore….
I'm not sure where you got
I'm not sure where you got that figure concerning the mean pay for Civil servants? The average GDP for the Cayman Islands is around $42,000 per annum. The average pay within the Civil service mirrors the national GDP. Whilst the other element of your post contain valid ideals and points, please refrain from exaggerating the salaries of the average civil servant. I will acknowledge that the upper level civil servants receive large salaries, however, they are make up the majority of workforcing force within the civil service.
GDP per person is not the
GDP per person is not the same as income per person.
Globally companies as well as
Globally companies as well as governments are slashing jobs. Cisco laid off 3% of its work force, RIM cut 6000 jobs (mismanagement of financial expectations...ring any bells), the Canadian government cut hundreds of civil servant positions, locally both LIME and Digicel have had to make cuts to stay within declining budgets, what makes the CIG any different than other major employers. Taxing and spending don't work (case in point the current US economic quagmire). What needs to happen is to create efficiencies in the current government, automate certain departments such as the licensing dept, immigration, customs etc. which yes will likely create a loss of some public sector jobs, however the increase in revenues by way of volume would offset some of those losses. Privatize aspects of the government as well, Bush is already working on PPP projects (Dart) so privatizing outright aspects like the port authority, HSA among others and let them run as revenue generating ventures rather than losses. The previous AG was essentially "run out of town' for bringing to light the chronic disease of apathy in government accounting principals and now the attack is on the current AG. If the voting populous is standing up and saying we wont stand for back room dealings and cloak and dagger financial reporting anymore then possibly future governments will actually listen. Quit voting "OUT" the current governments and focus on putting in people who will actually represent the interests of the Cayman Islands. I for one wish I had the opportunity to cast ballots when election times roll. being given the privileged of exercising that right means you have a SAY in how your country runs. Alas I don't have the right and the CIG will never allow it. Stand up for what is rightfully yours Cayman and stamp out corruption at all political levels. If the current tax issue passes, i fear the worst for the people of Cayman. post after post on this site show that foreign workers wont stand for discrimination and will likely just leave in frustration. great right? all those jobs become available again for Caymanian people, but wait where will those jobs be if the employers are too frustrated with dealing in a corrupt society and they too choose to locate elsewhere? Sorry those jobs wont be around for anyone to take them on unless you are willing to move with the employers. It has been said time and time again, financial services companies in cayman are here for one reason and one reason only, there is no direct taxation. all things being equal, these companies have their choice of sunny climates to domicile and believe me there far easier places in the world to do business than Cayman.Long rant i know but discriminatory taxation isn't the answer, cutting spending and creating efficiencies in Government are where the CIG will start to see a balanced budget!
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