The 2017/2018 budget favors the rich and does very little for the small man, charged Democratic National Alliance (DNA) Deputy Leader Chris Mortimer yesterday.
"In their latest campaign promise bait and switch, the Free National Movement (FNM) has moved away from reducing duties on breadbasket items, and instead decided to reduce duties on 'much needed' goods and foods like salmon, cakes, x-ray machines and gym equipment," Mortimer said in a statement to the press.
"The FNM has backed away from its pledge to reduce value-added tax (VAT) on core items and services.
"Similarly, they have also backed away from their inner-city tax initiative which was supposed to be a hallmark of their government.
"That promise, however, was unsustainable as suggested by the IMF and other analysts prior to the election.
"That did not stop the FNM from saying it because they felt they could win by telling Bahamians anything.
"We are left to wonder if Minister [Peter] Turnquest's declaration of no new taxes was true and sincere.
"At the rate at which the FNM has backed away from central themes of their 2017 campaign, we are not prepared to believe that the FNM administration will not back away from their promise of no new taxes or little else it has proposed to do."
Mortimer also heavily criticized the government's decision to borrow more than $722 million to cover its obligations, calling the decision "unbelievable and unthinkable".
The government last week passed a resolution to borrow $400 million to cover the expected overrun of expenditure over revenue in the 2016/2017 fiscal year.
Another resolution was introduced, but not passed, to borrow another $322.4 million to cover the estimated expenditure that will exceed revenue in 2017/2018.
"The DNA believes this is too much, too soon for the forecasted borrowing estimates for the 2017/2018 fiscal year," Mortimer said.
"The conventional wisdom is that if you borrow that much in advance on the expectation of expenditure, without even presenting a budget slimming program to go along with it, you will run the risk of spending that which you forecasted to borrow and we will be back to higher debt for the foreseeable future."
Mortimer added that it is believed that the deficit for the 2016/2017 budget will eclipse the $500 million revealed by Turnquest last week.
The Christie administration projected a GFS deficit of $100 million, but the actual figure is expected to be five times more.
"The former administration has left the country's finances in a deep financial hole that we will not be able dig ourselves out of any time soon. However, it must never be forgotten that it was the FNM that added to the same financial mess when they were last in office," Mortimer said.
"The narrative between the FNM and PLP is ominously similar.
"Both of them have exploded the country's debt.
"The clear takeaway from this budget is that the FNM has turned 'The People's Time' into 'Their People's Time'.
"This is a budget for the rich and not the small man, or the inner city."
Mortimer added that the DNA stands ready to hold this government's feet to the fire and to the promises which they made to the Bahamian people.

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