UK rejects latest CI budget
Posted on Tue, 08/07/2012 - 14:40 in Politics
(CNS): Following news that the premier is reconsidering the proposal to tax expat earnings, government sources tell CNS that the UK had already rejected the budget proposals that contained the new tax over concerns about the credibility of that and other revenue raising measures. It is understood that the FCO questioned the operating revenue predictions in the budget proposal, which was submitted to London on 31 July, and said the Cayman government needs to do more work on the budget before the minister could offer his approval on the spending plans for this financial year. Premier McKeeva Bush had previously stated that he wanted to present the budget on 9 August but that is now unlikely to be the case.
CNS asked the premier Tuesday, in light of the changes, when he expected to be able to deliver the budget but he was unable to confirm a date. “When the date is known the real press will be notified,” he told CNS by email, indicating that he did not consider Cayman News Service to be the “real press”.
Local opposition politicians have also confirmed that they have not been informed of the date when the premier plans to finally deliver the last budget of this administration.
The premier confirmed on Tuesday that the tax is off the table after the private sector had made a commitment to support other revenue raising measures, the details of which are expected to be revealed tomorrow at a public meeting in George Town.
The need to reassess the operating revenue will, however, lead to further delays in the presentation of the budget to the Legislative Assembly and may lead to yet another eleventh hour delivery. Government will need to re-submit any new revenue proposing measures, officials have said, because the UK will need to examine the new revenue proposals to ensure that the ideas are both credible and sustainable in order to deliver the expected cash.
This means Bush will need to redraw the budget based on the expected revenue projections of the alternatives to the tax proposal, resubmit the revised budget plan to London and wait on the FCO’s approval, present the approved document to the Legislative Assembly, debate the proposed bill, scrutinise the appropriations in Finance Committee and pass the budget into law -- all before 31 August when the recent stop-gap budget runs out.
It is understood that a number of alternative proposals have been submitted to government and the premier has agreed to adopt some of the measures that have been suggested, which are believed to target the offshore sector and the high-end tourism condominium market. However, no details of any of the measures the premier has agreed to have yet been confirmed.
The budget submitted last week represented some $592 million, despite significant cuts to government spending. The budget had a surplus of $70 million, which fell short of the targeted $76 million surplus that the UK had required so that the CIG would not need to borrow to fund capital expenditures during this financial year.
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Apparently government
Apparently government departments have been given the green light to recruit more staff
Can you believe it !!
Please provide evidence
Please provide evidence that will support your statement that "government departments have been given the green light to recruit more staff". I am shocked that someone would make this type of statement without providing any verifiable evidence.
I wish the UK would just come
I wish the UK would just come and take over. I am a Caymanian and sick of our corrupt system, cronyism, nepotism and familyism. There is not one politician I would vote for in the current standing. I am tired of seeing highly paid civil and public servants get free gas for personal use with gasboy. I am tired of public money being wasted on buying votes with free paving, I am tired of seeing family members of the people in power being treated with favouritism PPM or UDP it does not matter.
Now the UK government isnt that squeeky clean, but at least they wont have this 'tribal' attitude our politicians have.
Its the UK that help us got
Its the UK that help us got where we are now. Why go to the same old school of colonialism to find your answers. Cayman became great and prosperous one time by a diverse group of intellectual leaders in finance. Where was the UK when it was booming? And where was the UK when we needed help?
How can you blame the UK for
How can you blame the UK for Cayman Government's mismanagement of money?
This tribal attitude that our
This tribal attitude that our politician have adopted came about as a result of taking advice from too many people who came from that system of politics. It was entirely different when our leaders were connected with leaders from first world countries. How Cayman, is fast becoming third world. I pray that the USA does not decline further because that would be very determential to our industries.
Well said...our politicians
Well said...our politicians in power soon forget public sevice in the interests of SELF service.
This is the best paid job any one of them uneducated ones could ever dream of and will as a result do or say ANYTHING to keep that job....meanwhile the goose that is laying their golden egg is slowly dying.
Kick out the UDP as a first step.
I agree with you. Only those
I agree with you. Only those that have something corrupt to hide need fear a UK takeover.
Those of us that work hard and live within the rules can only benefit from such an event.
Make him keep playing around
Make him keep playing around with our budget - we have no budget! Right now we are on an emergency budget. If the Uk have to step him because of our internal affairs, it is not going to be pretty. That will be another dictatorship and I know they will do some cuts that everybody will be crying blood. Unfortunately the UK wants rejects this budget, not because it does not want the CEF the expat tax, but because it does not see enough reductions. McKeeva can travel to Jamaica for Independence and travel to Olympics and keep playing around on this very crucial matter. All of the other UDP members should be ashame of themselves for letting that man carry on the way he does!
TCI are getting ready for
TCI are getting ready for their elections in November...... The UK are packing up to leave there. Wonder where they'll be going next. Hmmmm
Education Tourism in Grand
Education Tourism in Grand Cayman.
I just want to throw this out there as an alternative to create new revenue and kick start the East End and the country on a hold. Mr. Miller I encourage you to get behind this please.
Use the New Mega Million Dollar High School in the East End as an International University of Study.
Market Cayman as an alternate study destination. Earn your degree, study in the sun and party on the beach after, something like that.
Second contract suitable qualified Teachers and Professors to come to Cayman to teach at that University.
If the school can hold 1,000 International student at $30,000 a year for tuition (just a ball park figure) this will generate $30,000,000 million minus $10 mill to cover expenses = Net $20 million in just one year….. Shocking… isn’t it?
For 1000 student you will probable need about 120 Teachers and administrators which equates to more Govt fees, more revenue , increase need for accommodation, new money circulating in the economy, reduce debt at no cost to the Govt.
There is no justification at this time given our current situation to relocate the Cliffton Hunter kids from their current George Town School to house them in a New Mega Million Dollar High School in the East End at the country’s expense.
We market Sports Tourism, Medical Tourism, now let’s create Education Tourism starting with the New Mega Million Dollar High School in the East End.
No point beating a dead horse, or milking a dry cow, get new fresh ones….. Come to Cayman Islands and study in the Sun. Just an idea for our Premier
totally agree. Grenada (an
totally agree. Grenada (an island approximately our size) has a very well known university/medical school that attracts approx 3500 students from overseas. The university and students contribute a lot to the island's economy. The Government over there recognized that and last year convinced UWI to open a campus in Grenada to boost the economy. Such initiatives benefit not only the economy but directly positively impact the people there by providing quality education services and in the case of the med school, quality health care.
No-one will pay $30k tuition
No-one will pay $30k tuition fees to come to a non-rated unestablished college in the middle of nowhere. Add to that the cost of room, board and a little spending money and ..... You can forget that one Bobo :-)
I agree that $30,000 per year
I agree that $30,000 per year is way too high - but you should not be too quick to throw hot water on the idea. We in this country need people like the person who has suggested this.
Cayman is one of the best banking centers in the world so you are being disrespectful to us all by calling it ''in the middle of nowhere'.
Thinking outside the box is good, and so is the ability to evaluate what we have and use it to achieve the most benefit. As I replied to the same post someplace else on this site,an additional idea is to offer online classes to students around the world at 1/2 the cost of similar courses in America. The key ingredient needed is to have the same accreditation standards that are used in America.
Since we are famous for insurance, banking and finance, and have many professionals in those fields it would be perfect to focus on degrees in those areas. I believe that those expat professionals who specialize in those fields would be happy to become involved.
This idea should be developed further and if you wish assistance in developing the idea to send to the Minister of Education you can email me at ari.greenwood@yahoo.com
Good suggestion. St. Matthews
Good suggestion. St. Matthews University is an existing example of this suggestion.
Mac will just move the
Mac will just move the 'Community Enhancement Fee" from 10% to 25%.
Yes I agree move it from 10%
Yes I agree move it from 10% to 25%. It is the best way forward.
I visited the Facebook
I visited the Facebook group "Caymanians & Expats United Against Taxation" and must admit that I did not see many indigenous Caymanians listed as members of the group. The group appears to still be primarily an expat led group with very little traditional Caymanian support.
Despite this fact the group must still be recognized for the role it played in getting the government to reverse direction on the proposed "Community Enhancement Fee".
You can't tell a Caymanian by
You can't tell a Caymanian by a last name. For instance my son is a Caymanian with his father's last name which is Spanish but he is more Caymanian than me. I have two Caymanian parents but I lived overseas for a few years but my son lived here all of his life.
Sounds like you get your
Sounds like you get your facts from the same dark smelly place Bush does. Wait. OOO sneaky. You know only the voters will belive this crap.
How do you tell that someone
How do you tell that someone is not an indigenous Caymanian? You cannot tell by looking at someone or their surname any more, remember that.
There never were any
There never were any indigenous Caymanians. Everyone is an expat, some are just more diluted than others!
You have not been around long
You have not been around long enough to know the difference.
Do you know why you won't
Do you know why you won't find any 'indigenous' Caymanians listed? Yes, it's because there aren't any. Caymanians, or British Overseas Citizens to quote their passports, are all immigrants from various diverse countries. And with exception of the few that can trace an unbroken genetic connection to the original founding families from the UK and Ireland, an indigenous or native 'Caymanian' is as rare on this island as the large reptile that bear's the same name. In effect a 'Caymanian' is no more a national identity than a Londoner or New Yorker.
And therein lies the rub and the reason why a large number of 'Caymanians' are so confused about their own identities and indifferent to those who they view as outsiders.
With so many diverse communities making up the population of such a small island and with those who consider themselves 'indigenous' because they happen to hold a well known family name, cultural, family and even district rivalries will inevitably bubble to the surface. This is apparent in the social and political rivalries that are all to obvious today and the reason why mature politics will always suffer in the future and will continue to regularly decend into farce in the present.
The only way forward is for the UK to impose direct rule and reign in the banana republicans that are as incompetent as they are dangerous for the future of the Cayman Islands.
This is no longer a quant
This is no longer a quant fishing and rope tying territory, and hasn't been for decades. You cannot go forward when you pine for the past. There will be thousands of new and qualified Status holding voters (many times what you might ascribe to the "giveaways") that don't require your personal recognition to exist. They do exist, they went through the process, and they are not going anywhere. You and any other "traditional/indigenous" countrymen and women, and all our politicians, and radio show announcers, need to wrap your head around that reality and get with the times if we are all going to be united for Cayman's future.
People like you is the
People like you is the problem in this place,
Indigenous Caymanian? why even bother to make such comments, did you stiff over the 11 thousand names and weed out the indigenous individuals?
It’s not about real or fake Caymanians, that not the point, it’s about this Tax and bad budget being bad for everyone, and we indigenous Caymanians in the end is the ones who going to be stuck with it in the end
What is "traditional
What is "traditional Caymanian support"? I see that it has been spearheaded by Caymanians, has Caymanian spokespeople and was predicated on the basis that the proposed tax would have harmed Caymanians just as much as expats. I think (assuming you are a "traditional Caymanian") you should be proud of these people because they have done an amazing job. If they're the future of this country then it might just be OK.
What you say is true and it
What you say is true and it is a pity. I know most Caymanians I talked to were at least ambivalent about the tax. But when only Caymanians speak up who think it is "time for the Expats to give back", voices like yours are left unheard.
I tell you, I am a part of this community and found my new home here and intend to stay for the long run, but I had never heard about Stingray City or 7MB before I arrived. The only thing I new the diving was supposed to be good and there is no tax.
If you want to feel how life is w/o Expats, look no further than the summer months now. They are all gone. What ever your work is, would you keep your job in a situation like this?
Yes.
Yes.
"I did not see many
"I did not see many indigenous Caymanians listed as members of the group". Presumably this is because iguanas are not than interested in Facebook and they are the only indigenous Caymanians.
To Loopy Lou (not
To Loopy Lou (not verified) on Wed, 08/08/2012 - 09:16. Just to play devil's advocate are there indigenous Englishmen or Americans.I believe that Africa has been established as the home of the first homo sapiens (humans) ,so I guess we are all transplanted Africans.
Actually they came from the
Actually they came from the Caucaus Mountains hence the race Caucasians.
Conventions need to develop
Conventions need to develop within Cayman's newly empowered government that the major portfolios must be spread out. We all understood the reasons for Mac wanting to appropriate all of the important functions to himself ("Minister of All Tings") but the country suffers when that happens. Finance is a particularly important function which involves having to meet various deadlines throughout the year, and the life of the minister responsible is meant to revolve around meeting these deadlines and preparing to make public announcements regarding the country's finances and plans for the future. The Throne Speech, the SPS, the Budget, the Supplemental Budget, these are all key features of Cayman's financial year/governance and they can't be phoned in from Shanghai.
I say give him another
I say give him another 2-month budget..... followed by elections. That way the FCO will know if McKeeva represents the wishes of the majority of Caymanians.
We will soon be 2 months into
We will soon be 2 months into the new fiscal year and still don't have a budget. The last time I checked, budgeting involved forecasting. What we have here could be historical reporting. Thank you FCO for showing this government that this whole thing is unacceptable. Unfortunately the government will not listen to it's people. We are crying out for better representation. Anyone thinking that independence is our solution is overlooking the fact that we can't even get a budget done on time, let alone ahead of time. Come on! We can do better.
The only paractical solution
The only paractical solution to our budget in my opinion that the UK will accept is the one proposed by Mr. Tim Ridley. Of all the suggestion that I have read so far Mr. Ridley's suggestion is the most realistic and practical. All others including the Chamber and business community are all one sided and what the UK government is looking for is a budget that is practical and sustainable. The way things are looking if the government i.e. all elected leaders don't come together and present a sustainable budget to the UK the government will have difficult meeting its financial obligations soon and this is a real shame as I am not aware of this ever happening in the Cayman Islands.
Unfortunately, many of us
Unfortunately, many of us that have worked as contractors for CIG know that CIG has not been good at meeting its financial obligations for at least the last ten years, if not longer.
When Government doesn't pay its bills on time, a bad example is set for the whole jurisdiction and the cost of everything goes up as business compensates by accepting those who never pay on time, or not at all as "business as usual".
We need to reset the basic rule that the government can be trusted. Trusted to pay its bills on time; trusted to create and maintain a legal and commercial environment in which business can thrive; trusted to generate and encourage a culture that will improve productivity in the public sector every year; trusted to treat everyone in the jurisdiction fairly; trusted to give long and hard thought towards changing anything that upsets the balance of the economy.
Trust and confidence are the essential requirements for Cayman's future success to occur. That is why a politician that breaches turst and destroys confidence must be made to step aside, sooner rather than later, so that rectifying the breach can occur.
When you go to the Meeting
When you go to the Meeting tonight my suggestion would be to tax the whole of them Caymanians and Foreigners. Let everyone who enters that airport pay a 5000 dollar tax fee before leaving. Tax them when they come back too. Will you not open your eyes and see how many of them is against you. Tax all districts except West Bay. along with all expatriates. You do not need the others. They are hell bent on taking you out anyway so Tax them, all of them. Tax all the money expatriates is sending out of the country. Tax their dog and cat too. They has no business here without a workpermit..
Look at the Caymanians who are cursing you. Tax all of them, Expat and Caymanians, then give them the bag and say run the country since you so want it. End of conversation.
That's the whole problem: WE
That's the whole problem: WE CANNOT DO BETTER. Both the PPM and the UDP have proven to be incapable of providing efficient management and fiscal prudence. The bottom line is that Cayman has absolutely no PARTY in toto with the necessary skills to manage the country.
Can you read? The problem is
Can you read? The problem is CURRENT expenditure, not capital expenditure which is all people like you can accuse the PPM of. You never remember to ask how much current expenditure is saved every month by the efficient, modern GOAP building in electricity, rent and water bills. When your child is in a new school we needed over 30 years ago you will forget that you thought they weren't needed either. You probably drive on the new bypasses too!
We're talking about the
We're talking about the ability of MLAs to govern the country. There is no politician in this country with the education, experience, honour, and integrity to lead this country out of recession - PERIOD! And to argue othrwise is futile.
If he would stop wasting OUR
If he would stop wasting OUR money on his "nation building" vote buying fund then the government could easily balance the budget.
All those who are hell bent
All those who are hell bent on seeing a budget pass and want to be Premier, why don't they do it. Since they are all so full of words to fix everything, then fix the buget. All of you who are blogging nonsence because of hate for the Premier, why dont you then take the job. All mouth I am sure. But next year your time is coming. You cannot hurt Bush I hope you know, But all the Independent and PPM followers will make a big blunder of this Island just because they will only be considering and working towards hurting Bush and then they will criple the Cayman people in doing so. Just wait and see. I am positive this will happen. Problems has not begun yet.
I agree! Its not Mac's
I agree! Its not Mac's fault, he said so himself. Its everyone else that is the problem. All those parliamentary procedures are getting in the way.
Last time we all checked,
Last time we all checked, apart from you evidently, Mr. Bush was doing a stellar job at hurting his own image as well as that of our island.
Clearly you are either blind or you do not understand much of what you read or see going on around you.
The fact that you clearly still support this mad man also shows that it is people like you that will ultimately hurt the Caymanian people and this country by continuously supporting a buffoon with no clue, purpose or plan.
A very concerned Caymanian.
Independence is our
Independence is our solution!
Independence from McKeeva that is.
Since the it is ok with the
Since the it is ok with the Premier to suggest that a person is Tarred Feathered & Flogged or was that in reverse order...can he put that into law? I would surely appreciate it if the people could as a mob act in such a manner.
I am sure a Bull cod is somewhere to be found and I think it would make good press or a commercial.
All the expats plus logical Caymanians on one side (in a line ) with armour made out of office equipment with their floggers likely a desk phone or reams of papers glue guns and feather shooting shredders.
Facebook generals dressed as cossak horsemen
On the opposite side, the barbians mostly status holding nannies, crackheads and other cruffs sporting turtle shells and cow cods. Home made catapults ( tin can with crackholes punched in it) with hot tar and old pillow cases with feathers.
The King and his generals (advisors) in the SUV.
Then after a messenger is sent to the front to discuss the term of the engagement both sides shout charge and the flogging begins
Mr. Foster, Mr. Thompson et
Mr. Foster, Mr. Thompson et al
The commercial families in Cayman need to step up to the political plate.
Your continued prosperity relies on government policy and strategy.
The commercial families are already independently wealthy so you can afford 4 or 8 years away from your businesses.
It is time for you all to give back the community that generated your wealth. Giving advice to McKeeva is a waste of time and cannot benefit Cayman. There is ample evidence that this is so.
Please, run for office and lead by example. Take a $1.00 per year salary and put this country back on the rails. While you are at it, mentor a generation of young, hard working, well educated, well trained, and (hopefully) ethical Caymanians to take over after you step aside.
I strongly believe that this is a practical way forward for Cayman. You are the ones who can dig us out of the hole that the UDP and PPM have dug. If you do not step up to the plate, then the hole will only get deeper, no matter who wins the next election.
Warm regards,
A person who is deeply concerned for the future of Cayman
Is it true that the Financial
Is it true that the Financial Times, WSJ and other leading financial journals have made attempts to contact people in Cayman as they are going to run a story about the financial mess that we are now in? I really hope that this is not the case because this kind of publicity will destroy these islands.
Do you really think that a
Do you really think that a bunch of business people running Government is the best thing for Cayman? Who do you think they will look out for your interests or theirs? These people are no different the set thats in there now, hence their ability to influence them. I encourage you to wait for the announcement today so we can see what "surprises" it will contain - I suspect they are going to continue taxing the middle-class so the rich can continue to profit...
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