Surprise fuel cut in budget
(CNS): The premier has announced a reduction of 25 cents per gallon on diesel duty imported by CUC from 1 January next year, which will cut the cost of bills for both residential and business customers. In his presentation ahead of the finance minister's budget Monday in the Legisaltive Assembly, he revealed the fuel duty cut as well as reduction in general duty of 2% on all goods for licensed retail traders, which he also said would help merchants cut their prices and encourage people to buy local. As he began delivering the full budget, Marco Archer also announced that government was expecting to end this financial year with a $108 million surplus, $7 milllion more than expected.
Check back for more reports from budget throughout the day.
Category: Politics
What about gasoline? There are many that depend on their vehicles for a living/business and the cost of gasoline must force them to put their prices up or take a big cut in their bottom line.
This will only result in higher profits for local business.
Nothing will go to us.
How much do you bet that the price at the pump will only go down by 10c on average?!
Marco's budget is brilliant and will stimulate the economy total cash injection maybe 50 million, do you know how much money leaves this country thru purchasing diesel from overseas, 130 million dollars a year if we could keep that money by building our own solar that is owned and run by the people of the Cayman Islands we would keep a lot of that money here.
macro economic theory 101,
lets make it happen people call your MLA and instruct him to stop the ERA from sign you onto expensive volatile diesel generated power for the next 25 years. They work for you. I trying but I need help.
This reduction will translate into bugger all for most consumers, it would be better if they left it as is and used the money to pay off debt so that long term this country might be able to afford some job generating projects!!
14:32.Translate into what?
Sorry bugger all meas nothing.
An example of it in a sentence would be "Tara Rivers has acheived bugger all since she was elected"
CUC will find a way to wield in some additional fee…what we need is competition!!!
Damned if you do and damned if you dont. You would be a good talk show host.
Well well, we now have Christmas July 2015. You can hear some things in this ya Islands . And Santa Clause Elves gonna steal it away from us, oh it's crying time again.
You're dead right on this one, man.
Now this gives me a surge of confidence in the PPM…
Just when I was about to give up on them…
Thanks guys…
Well done PPM….let's just hope this is the start of responsible fiscal reductions to our cost of living.
I thought Big Mac voice this same idea last week with the revelation of a $104M surplus…. Ah, boy – Thanks PPM or better yet… the LA.
That's right – they were just waiting to get the idea from Big Mac…smh..
Next January is a long way off Bobo. Anything can happen by then.
Reduction on gas would go a long way to help out too.Working boats and cars and trucks too.A lot of us out here feel the high price of gas each week as it always goes up BUT seldom comes down.
The rebate on the fuel tax is great news but why wait until January next year to effect this? Why not July 1, 2014?
13:52 you are talking good sense. Why wait until January, can every one see what is happening, these people have begun to buy future votes. Fooling you all again since they have been reading the thumbs down against them recently.
I think the words you were searching for were "thank you". You are a real idiot. Whoever heard about buying votes three years before an election.
I totally agree with your comments BUT by the time Jan comes around these fee reductions could well be swept away in the hands of greedy merchants anwe will be no better ff than befor.The problem lies in the civil service
Encourage merchants to reduce their prices, my what short memories the politicians have? I recall after Ivan a certain hardware store was priced gorging. Who's going to police the merchants on their reduced costs?
Exactly!! If the Premier wants to help us he should reduce duties on everything that is imported. Returning travellers should get a break on the articles bought on vacation. There is hardly anywhere on the island that one can find decent clothing and shoes to buy at reasonable prices. Mr. Premier please re-think that if you reallywant to help us.
14:35. Read the article again and see if you missed this "he revealed the fuel duty cut as well as reduction in general duty of 2% on all goods for licensed retail traders, which he also said would help merchants cut their prices "also he explained that the duty cut on diesel " will cut the cost of bills for both residential and business customers".
It's never enough for some people. Import Duties are one of the main revenue sources for govt. If you encourage people to spend money overseas by giving them more breaks on what they import that does not help the local economy.
Reduce duty to nil on all businesses importing clothing. Right now I bet the govt is not making much money in this category since there are so few businesses selling clothing. However if duty is nil we'll have a surge of new shops here carrying clothing at prices which will make many buy locally rather than flying to miami buying clothes and bringing them into the country declaring nothing. It will promote a new business opportunity for caymanians, more employment through increased spending locally.
PPM, think about it! Maybe one day we'll have a mall and also clothing shops rather than just jewelry stores downtown.
CUC will find a reason to counteract the reduction and keep the cost as is if not allow them to increase. CUC's share holders don't make profits when the rest of us get a break.
CNS, if we really want to open the eyes of the people about CUC's "Shareholders" please do an investigative report!! The biggest shareholders are NOT local, but overseas….PLEASE!!! Break the myth that there are locals saving their pennies for CUC stocks so we get a trickle down effect, it is simply not true and the people should know just how badly tis myth has been spread.
People of Cayman, the deal with CUC to get "guranteed" profits at double digit levels should XXXX, not letting them get away with this. The profits do not even STAY in Cayman, but the biggest dividends are sent overseas!?! A bad deal for our people that continues??
1. Anyone can be a CUC shareholder, and many shareholders are in fact Caymanian.
2. There is no deal that guarantees CUC double digit profits. That is just nonsense.
3. If we invest in CUC then the money stays here.
Anyone can be a CUC shareholder? O.K. On what exchange is it traded? Does the Cayman Islands have a stock exchange? I can't find CUC on any exchange. Is it just available to "insiders"?
Yes, TSX, yes, wow I found it doing a simple google search, way to go on that research. No, it is a publicly listed company
You clearly haven't even done a basic google search. It is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange, trading symbol CUP.U. http://online.wsj.com/article/PR-CO-20140522-913827.html
Now stop asking stupid questions.
Dear Stupid
Are you really that stupid? Yes, yes you are. Before spouting crap from your mouth and proving how much of an idiot you are, how about either looking on CUC website or *gasp* doing a Google search?
You were not looking very hard – following is on their web page. Customer Share Purchase Plan:
The Customer Share Purchase Plan (CSPP) was launched in January 1995 and provides an opportunity for customers resident in the Grand Cayman to invest in the Company. Customers may make cash payments of not less than CI$25 (US$30) per purchase and up to a total of CI$12,000 (US$14,400) per calendar year for the purchase of Class A Ordinary Shares. Quarterly cash dividends paid on the shares are reinvested in additional Class A Ordinary Shares under the CSPP. Full details of the Plan may be obtained from CUC's Customer Service Department.
I am Local and have some CUC stock for sale, Interested?
Yes. I am local and can't save enough to buy all the CUC stock I can.
Sometimes I have to scratch my head at the idiocy that is written on here. CUC is a publicly traded company on the Toronto Stock Exchange. What should we do limit the marketability of the shares to Caymanians just so the profits can remain here? smh. Please think before posting.
I have a feeling you are not worried about money remaining in Cayman when you are on your Miami shopping trips. You are quite happy to help the Florida economy instead.
Isn't the whole point to save as much money as possible and take it away at the end?
Arden McLean is a Shareholder at CUC and a he's local. What makes you think that any of the rest of Politicians arent'? If they weren't, im sure this would've been done a long time ago or this duty cut on diesel would take effect from 1 July 2014. They dont want this to happen but it was merely done as he's trying to do something to save his seat in the next General Election.
Stupid comment. CUC gains nothing by having higher duties on diesel. In fact, quite to the contrary, it works against CUC since it raises your bills without beneffiting them and causes you to cut consumption and as a result they lose profits.
It can't do so. It is just a pass-through under the licence. More importantly, this is better for CUC since your bills wil be lower at no cost to them but will encourage you to use more electricity which will benefit them.
A backwards step.
I am showing our MLA's a way to reduce our utility bills by 60% and I cannot get a call back from most of them, Marco drops the bill by 4% and it makes headline news.
wow.
Mark, shouldn't you be charging our Government $2,000,000 for a report first?
And I should have a white foreigner present it, then it would go thru for sure.
Hey, you manage to get two prejudices into one sentence, well done!
True! Unless they are paying a couple of million for "consultants" they don't want to hear it!
Your free advice is not worth the price.
Because when Marco drops the charge it translates into an effect – your suggestion is an unproven business plan which requires substantial upfront investment and is subject to a whole string of assumptions. And gee – if it were that easy, then why isnt the private sector doing it already – why does it need givernment subvention? Marco has the authority to change the electricty rate by dropping the fuel surcharge without any upfront commitment, with the absolute certainty that it will hit the bills people pay. What should I get more excited by -someone putting a dollar on black in a casino and promising me the proceeds, or someone asking me to put $100 on number 36 because the return is going to be way higher, honest guv.
Excellent news re diesel since that will automatically be passed on to consumers. However, re the reduction in general duty that is entirely dependent on the good faith of merchants to pass it on to consumers rather than just increase their profit margin. At least one large merchant has said that they are not unwilling to do so.