We are not anticipating any increases in taxes or new taxes in the budget – Prof. Prasad

There will be no surprises, we will not chop and change tax policies and we are not anticipating any increases in taxes or new taxes.

That is the assurance from Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Professor Biman Prasad while speaking on the upcoming 2025/2026 National Budget during the 50th Annual Congress of the Fiji Institute of Chartered Accountants.

Professor Prasad says if there are changes in the tax rates, it will be within the existing tax system and that is something that will be decided next week.

He says it will be focused on working with the taxpaying community and aimed at closing some of the loopholes that may have existed in the past.

Professor Prasad says they are looking at this budget as a budget that will anticipate any global economic slowdown that may affect Fiji.

He says if the global trade war continues with the major players and it affects tourism, disposable income goes down for those coming to Fiji and remittances slow down, then we will be looking at a slightly increased expenditure policy from the government.

The Deputy Prime Minister says they will keep a good operational and capital expenditure mix but it would mean increasing social welfare, increasing support to farmers, having additional subsidies for increased production, and supporting infrastructure that will allow people to spend more money. He stresses that they are anticipating a global economic slowdown, and they have to prepare themselves to ensure that our Gross Domestic Product does not get affected. Professor Prasad says the coalition government inherited one of the most dilapidated health and education infrastructure and they are struggling to cope with it and also to allocate appropriate expenditure to these areas.

He thanks development partners like the Australian government for providing direct budget support to our health and education sectors.

The Deputy Prime Minister says they are confident that the projected economic growth of 3.4 percent for this year is achievable despite a global economic slowdown.

Professor Prasad will deliver the 2025/2026 National Budget on the 27th of this month.