Budget Meets Deadline For First Time

Celebration Time: Budget meets deadline for the first time

GREAT BAY — “Today is a day for celebration;” Finance Minister Richard Gibson said at yesterday’s Council of Ministers press briefing.

The reason: “For the first time in history St. Maarten has presented a balanced budget according to the stipulation in the law.”

The budget was presented in the Council of Ministers on Tuesday and approved. “This deserves a big round of applause,” the minister said. “It shows that St. Maarten is on the right path and that it is prepared and can do the right thing.”

Minister Gibson commended his staff for two months of dedicated and hard work on the budget.

The deadline for presenting a budget to the financial supervisor CFT is September 1.

The 2017 budget has an expenditure-ceiling of 450 million guilders. No subsidies have been cut to achieve this, the minister said, adding that subsidies are back at their previous levels.