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Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

Dr. Douglas De Couto, JP, MP

1768
Speeches
616,883
Words Spoken
69
Sittings Active
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
13 words
I am going back to CIT numbers in the revenue. page B -109.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
86 words
And of course we have the Corporate Income Tax on $187,500. The Premier may not wish to answer this, but if they wanted to give us a preview of what these payments might look like over the next three or four quarters, that would certainly help us understand and draw conclusion about how confident to be about those payments. Bermuda …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
40 words
I only say, Mr. Chairman, because if I turn to page A -1, I can see there is a line, line 1(a) for Corporate Income Tax. And there is an estimate of $600 million in the 2026/27 and the 2027/28.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
52 words
Yes. Hopefully the Government could give us some indication of how those might break out by quarter, because that would help us figure out how much would get into . . . as you know, our budget years are not aligned on the annual year. So that would help us understand that.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
126 words
Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Still referring to the Corporate Income Tax income on that same line. What risk factors has the Government considered around the robustness of that estimate? We know that there has been some feedback from the OECD about our particular CIT legisla-tion. We know that under the Trump Administration to the West there has been a …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
47 words
Is the Government considering adding any other performance measures here having to do with fiscal guardrails? There could be some appetite for that from the public. Especially the management of the Corporate Income Tax. Turning forward to page B -111 under Head 11, the Accountant General —
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
4 words
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
22 words
I can be flexible so if there is a change of heart we can deal. Right. Where were we? Page B -111.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
124 words
The total expenditure has a 23 per cent growth of $20 million. I know that some of that was covered. The GEHI, the increase in debt was covered. I would like to get the answers to the prior questions about the Sinking Fund because I think some of that was spent on the GEHI. And that would kind of lead …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
8 words
Yes, 21030, Government Employee Health Insurance. Thank you.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
123 words
I did hear something in the corner. I know that some people think the legislation is the reason. I note that there is some legislation in place they might be referring to. But this year we have chosen to pay it above the line and so I would like to understand what happened. Yes, I would like them to explain …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
161 words
And so I would like to understand what the Government is doing to fix that prob-lem so that the Auditor General can have the confidence to provide an unqualified opinion on the reports. [Inaudible interjection] 622 16 May 2025 Official Hansard Report Bermuda House of Assembly Dr. Douglas DeCouto: Well, I have a very specific question with regard to the …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
13 words
That is right, Mr. Chairman. The second row down on page B -114.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
9 words
Okay. Now I turn back to page B -111.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
5 words
Sorry. Financial Reporting, unit 21001—
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
23 words
—was budgeted for $580[,000] originally last year but only came in at $329,000. But this year is budgeted to go up to $713,000.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
90 words
There was quite a lot in the brief but perhaps the Junior Minister could narrow down precisely what was driving those changes, Mr. Chairman, because it does seem quite volatile. I see 21008 under Financial Systems. Again, quite a lot of movement year on year. I think that was kind of covered in the brief about the various systems and …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
3 words
That is correct.
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
88 words
And now it is going down to $7,000. I guess I should feel glad there is some mon-ey in there that I imagine would be to move this initiative along. But I see one headcount on page B -113, again, for 21100. So, I do not understand how $7,000 is going to pay for one headcount and how that is …
16 May 2025 House of Assembly
Official Hansard Report - House of Assembly
13 words
That would be appreciated. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Remaining on page B -111.