Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson on the Isle of Man Government Budget 2024
Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson on the Isle of Man Government Budget 2024
Transcript
00:00 We've gone through a period of high inflation, increased public spending but
00:05 also increased demand for key services such as health care. What we're doing in
00:09 this budget is balancing that by increasing the up rate of income tax
00:13 from 20 to 22 percent and ring-fencing that for health care so we can continue
00:18 to invest in our NHS. Now, twin to that we're also bringing in corporation taxes as
00:23 well for certain large companies and trying to balance out that income that
00:29 we're taking both the people and companies on the Isle of Man to make sure we have a
00:33 sustainable plan going forward. Do you think the public will understand the thinking behind this?
00:38 One of my roles is to explain why I think it's absolutely essential that we
00:42 maintain high quality public services but to do that we need to grow our
00:47 economy and in the short term we need to increase taxation to balance the books
00:52 rather than constantly draw down on reserves. So what I'll be setting out in
00:56 the budget is that medium-term financial plan so we can get back to a
01:00 completely balanced budget but still invest in our island for the future economy.
01:05 I think it's the first income tax rise since 2011, it must be a difficult decision for any Treasury Minister to make.
01:15 It's an extremely difficult decision and I apologise for having to do this but at the same time what we're
01:20 trying to do is make sure that departmental spending is kept under
01:23 control, that departments are far more efficient, that they provide
01:28 value for money and that they spend the money that the taxpayers gives them in
01:32 the best way possible for our future.