I have described the recently read fiscal budget as the best I have experienced to date.

My recollection is that every year the budget is to be read, businesses and individuals are always on edge as to what new tax will be introduced. Because of this annual anxiety, business and individual planning is always an uncertain event as, depending on the mood of the finance minister, your business or life could change for the worse in the two to three hours of his presentation.

This uncertain situation, in my view, has always contributed to lack of confidence and risk-taking.

It is for this reason I say that this was the best budget I can recall. Not because there were no new taxes introduced, which is very good, but by itself is not the most significant achievement. I say this because tax policy must not be driven by whether one wants to score political points or not, in either introducing or not a new tax regime. It must be driven by the need to realign your economy for growth and development, based on global and local changes ­­— which is not what we have used tax policy to do in the past.

The main exception was the introduction of the $1.5-million tax plan, which was mainly driven for political reasons but had the benefit of moving us towards indirect from direct taxes, although it didn’t go far enough to get the maximum benefit. This is because I think the objective of the tax break was wrong.

So the primary reason for me saying that this is the best budget I have experienced is that — for the first time I can recall — the finance minister has presented a budget that has not caused any shift in business or personal strategy. That is a remarkable achievement for us, and is something that we have been longing for in this country for a long time.

But the presentation day alone is not what made this happen. Prior to the budget the finance minister had stated that there would be no new taxes, and he lived up to that. Secondly, there was no suspense period, which is usually the case, between when the finance minister opens and closes.

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