BVI one of two OTs operating without deficit budget

Now that the House of Assembly has passed the 2022 budget, Labour & Immigration Minister Vincent Wheatley said the Virgin Islands is one of two British Overseas Territories operating without a deficit budget going into the new fiscal year.

Wheatley said it is especially important to operate a country without a deficit budget during a pandemic as it will ease some of the burdens the government faces.

“Some persons may look at that and say it’s no big deal. What’s the big deal with a deficit budget? But these have consequences. You do not want to be in a deficit budget during a pandemic. One member had said you can’t run a country on the backs of the businesses and the taxpayers. You also cannot be foolish during a pandemic because a pandemic does not have a start date and an end date,” Wheatley said.

“You cannot compare a pandemic to a hurricane. You know when a hurricane is coming and it lasts a few hours and it’s very finite, so to speak. But when you are dealing with a pandemic, this is the worse one in over 100 years. You have to be very prudent how you handle a budget,” the Labour Minister added.

The first-term legislator also commended Premier Andrew Fahie on the approach he took with this year’s budget. He said there will never be enough money in any country to complete everything the government and the people want to accomplish.