There were few surprises in the document, which estimates the country's net deficit will be down to 109 million US dollars, or 3 point 5 per cent of GDP. There will be no tax on split peas, rice and tinned fish to help low income earners, while tax on imported vegetables will triple. Tourists and travellers will pay a little more, with the Airport Departure Tax to be increased from 37 to 50 US dollars. Dr Nur Ali, president of the Suva Chamber of Commerce, says the initial reaction from her members has been positive.
Presenter: Bruce Hill
Speaker: Dr Nur Ali, president of the Suva Chamber of Commerce
ALI: It's already been well received. There is no drastic changes, there is no changes really as such. The increase airport tax and Vat on certain payments which was not previously been included so that's about all really. It's just realignment of costs.
HILL: So as far as the business community is concerned, it is steady as she goes kind of budget announcement?
ALI: Absolutely.
HILL: How is business going in Fiji? We hear talk sometimes that some sectors are really quite badly depressed and that jobs keep getting lost. Is business, it may not be booming, but is business still ticking over in Fiji?
ALI: Yeah, it is, it is. There is a sense of getting up and on and that's about the general mood these days.
HILL: Was there anything that the government didn't do in this budget announcement that you would have wanted them to do?
ALI: Not really, I would not put it that way. There is a lot of speculation actually that there would be some changes in terms of increases in taxes and what have you and nothing like that happened so it was a relief.
HILL: Yeah, there were a lot of rumours about a devaluation and an increase in the VAT to 15 per cent?
ALI: Yeah, so nothing like that happened.
HILL: So do you think the government is on the right track economically, are you happy with the direction or would you like them to change direction in anyway?
ALI: Well, the challenge that remains is with the bureaucracy and delivery of services, that is about all, but other than that, it is best not to make any changes now.
HILL: What about employment though? There are a lot of people who are out of work. What's the best way of tackling unemployment in Fiji?
ALI: Well, that is something may be I can write to answer to. There is a lot of things you could do to tackle unemployment and that's something which needs a bit of thought and written answer to as opposed to a quick comment on as what I am doing at the moment.
HILL: What for you was the main standout feature of this budget? Was it there anything in this budget that particularly stood out that could have more of an impact than any of the other announcements?
ALI: Yes, the deeming tax provision for dividends on listed companies. What it means is the dividends and on profits from list of companies are not going to be taxed in the names of shareholders, that's a correction and that is well received.
HILL; What do you think the affect of that is going to be?
ALI: Confidence, business confidence.
