Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

Premier Wheatley presents $399.33M Budget for 2023

Premier Wheatley presents $399.33M Budget for 2023

In a Budget Address that lasted for more than 1 hour and 45 minutes, Premier and Minister of Finance, Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7) presented a conservative budget of $399.33M for 2023, which represented a decrease of $21.17M compared to the revised budgeted expenditure for 2022.
Theme

The National Budget was presented today, November 29, 2022, under the theme ‘Resilience, Revenue, Reform and Recovery: The Virgin Islands in transition’.

Giving his address at the Ninth Sitting of the Fourth Session of the Fourth House of Assembly, (HoA) at Save the Seed Energy Centre in Duff’s Bottom, Dr Wheatley said the budget, “represents a simple but largely comprehensive matrix of what we have accomplished this year and what the priorities and parameters of our mission in the upcoming year and beyond should be, given the international geopolitical and economic climate and the situation closer to home.”

$335.05M Recurrent Expenditure

Of the $399.33M budgeted, $335.08M is for Recurrent Expenditure, $41.59M for Capital Expenditure, $15.52M for repayment of the principal on debts, and $7.15M for contributions to various statutory funds.

The Finance Minister, presenting his first budget since becoming Premier of the Unity Government in May of this year, said the technical experts at the Ministry of Finance projected revenues to be $373. 03M. This he said is an increase of 11.68M over 2022’s actual revenue $361.35M.

He said they anticipate $352.64M of revenues to come from receipts of taxes and 20.39M from other revenue sources.

Capital Expenditure of $41.59M is budgeted to facilitate Development Projects. This Premier Wheatley said will be funded via $21.18M from the Recurrent Surplus, $10.77M in loan funds from the Caribbean Development Bank Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Loan, $2.41M from the Consolidated Fund, $2.22M from the Transportation Network Fund and $5M from insurance proceeds in the Development Fund.

$128.2 M for Employee Compensation

Meanwhile, $128.2M is allocated for Employee Compensation, $85.65M for goods and services, and $81.23M for grants to parastatals, statutory bodies, and other organizations and international bodies based on existing commitments.

He said the Unity Government has also made provisions of $8.55M for property and other expenses; $1.5M for subsidies; $6.6M for interest payments and $22.55M for social benefits.

According to Dr. Wheatley, through prudent financial management, the Ministry of Finance projects a Recurrent Surplus of approximately $36.7M.

He said $21.18 M from the Recurrent Surplus will be transferred to the Development Fund.

More details to follow.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×