Thomas Hayes’ Post

Government revenue (LKR 364Bn) surged above the expenditure (LKR 327), making fiscal status positive in Feb. This resulted in a deceleration of the budgetary deficit from LKR 167Bn to LKR 130Bn in the first two months of 2024. It is 60% lower than in 2022. https://lnkd.in/gcp9zjnR

Government revenue (LKR 364Bn) surged above the expenditure (LKR 327), making fiscal status positive in Feb. This resulted in a deceleration of the budgetary deficit from LKR 167Bn to LKR 130Bn in the first two months of 2024. It is a 60% lower than 2022. https://lnkd.in/gcdS58x3

Government revenue (LKR 364Bn) surged above the expenditure (LKR 327), making fiscal status positive in Feb. This resulted in a deceleration of the budgetary deficit from LKR 167Bn to LKR 130Bn in the first two months of 2024. It is a 60% lower than 2022. https://lnkd.in/gmxBrV-e

He is concerned that emoluments being paid are too high.

It will be interesting to see how National Treasury will fund the NHI without creating the financial burden to the households. Below is extract from Govt news on NHI. "Where will the funding for NHI come from? - National Treasury will determine the sources of funding for NHI and be approved by Cabinet. Treasury will also determine when any dedicated NHI contributions are introduced or changed in line with the fiscal and economic environment. - NHI will be funded through a mandatory pre-payment system and other forms of taxes collected by SARS and allocated to the Fund by Parliament. - Based on the NHI Bill, NHI will be predominantly funded through general revenue allocations, supplemented by: (1) a payroll tax payable by employers and employees and (2) a surcharge on individuals' taxable income. - The financial impact of the NHI taxation system must not create an increased burden on households compared to the current system. There will be no option for opting out of NHI for eligible people. - Out-of-pocket payments such as co-payments and user fees will not be used to generate additional funding for comprehensive health care services to be covered under NHI. This ensures that healthcare services are delivered free of charge at the point of service and that the most vulnerable are not denied access."

𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝗱: Fresh austerity measures for the current fiscal year 2023-24 are under submission to the prime minister for approval to control current expenditure, official documents of the Finance Division revealed. Read more at: https://lnkd.in/d-JTp2sx #pakistan #news #dailynews #morningnews #morningbriefing #economy #psx #kse100 

We need to discuss the jobs report. The headlines are completely misleading. In 2023, 60% of all job growth have come from government, health care, and social assistance. Accounting for 1.4m of the 2.25M jobs added in 2023. These are essentially tax payer funded segments of the economy and on the heals of massive growth during the pandemic. This irresponsible fiscal policy on the local, state and federal level has allowed inflation to soar and interest rates to remain high, inflation linger, and accelerates growth in government debt. It is also in direct conflict with the federal reserves efforts to tame inflation. We need monetary and fiscal policies to work together to address real concerns. The economy is thirsty for interest rates to come down to unleash the private sector. We can't afford high interest rates as annually spending to service government debt passed $1T annually . Frivolous government spending has to stop on both sides to the political aisle. Unfortunately, I think government will continue to spend and we are going to be in a world of hurt in 10 years when interest payments is our single largest line item in our federal budget.

I don’t know about you; but I beg to differ. All these reports about billions and trillions are lost on everyday folks struggling to put food on the table. No one can verify such claims. We all know that statistics can be interpreted however the paymaster wishes the researcher to steer the narrative. Such reports have the effect of making people suffer in silence wondering whether it’s just them missing something. And such reports delude those living from hand to mouth into thinking their fortunes should change soon. Nada nada. Not happening. What’s real is the rising costs of living and income failing to keep up. What’s real is GST will be increased from 8% to 9% come January 2024.

A week from now, Jeremy Hunt delivers his Autumn Statement in Parliament. We have been speaking to SMEs about what the Chancellor can offer them to help with the high costs they are facing. The top three asks were: 📈 An increase in the Small Business Rates Relief 📆 The rate relief extended past next April 👩💼 Measures to support the labour market Find out more about SMEs’ priorities and wishes in our #AmbitionIndex report: https://lnkd.in/ejhfBPsV #ThreeBusiness #SmallBusiness #AutumnStatement