Government Finance
UPM not prioritising economic decline, says McTaggart
(CNS): In his response to the United People’s Movement budget, delivered on Friday, Opposition Leader Roy McTaggart accused Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly and her new team of continuing to ignore the Cayman Islands’ broader economic decline and growing inequality gap, which he implied had emerged during the past two years. He accused the premier of failing […]
UPM increasing range of fees in 2024/25 budget
(CNS): Premier and Finance Minister Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said her government would increase some taxes or fees over the 2024-25 budget period, such as a rise in duty on electric cars, stamp duty in high-end locations, work permit applications and some General Registry fees. In the Budget Address delivered on Friday afternoon, she outlined an increase […]
Offshore related fees won’t increase in coming budget
(CNS): Firms operating in the Cayman Islands most important and lucrative economic pillar will not be subjected to any fee increases in the forthcoming budget, expected to be presented to parliament next week. According to a circular from the Ministry of Financial Services sent to stakeholders business fees across the financial services sector will remain […]
Parliament meeting set to deliver UPM budget
(CNS): The United People’s Movement government will bring the 2024/25 budget to parliament on 8 December. In a press release from the House, the Speaker, Sir Alden McLaughlin called for the second meeting and official state opening of the 2023-24 session of the parliament to begin next Friday at 10am. It will include the governor’s […]
Ministers paid an average of over $305k per year
(CNS): Members of the Cabinet earned CI$3.3 million, about $305,000 each on average in 2022, the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) has revealed in a new public interest report. Government ministers were not the only senior public sector employees to take home salaries and benefits that the average resident can only dream of; other members […]
Civil servants getting one-off payment of $1,500
(CNS): Core government workers will be getting an additional CI$1,500 in their December pay packets to help with the cost of living and to reward their contributions. Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the cash payments were being funded by the efficiencies and savings made this year in public spending. The new leader told parliament that the […]
CIG still running big surplus despite spending worries
(CNS): Even though former premier Wayne Panton recently urged the civil service to help cut public spending, the government is still running a healthy surplus so far this year. According to the third quarter unaudited financial report on public finances, published last week, the surplus for the Entire Public Sector stands at $116.6 million, some […]
CI$8 million spent by CIG outside of rules
(CNS): Although all public bodies must comply with the law when procuring goods and services, Auditor General Sue Winspear revealed in a report made public last week that government departments and public authorities spent more than CI$8 million last year outside of the rules. There were more than fifteen cases where significant amounts of money […]
Over two decades on, CIG still struggles with accounts
(CNS): Auditor General Sue Winspear still has “concerns about the quality of the submitted financial statements” by government entities after hundreds of adjustments and additional disclosures had to be made to the 2022 financials submitted for audit this year. In her latest general report on the Cayman Islands Government’s annual bookkeeping, she also noted failures […]
Cayman finally off FATF AML grey list
(CNS): The Cayman Islands has finally been removed from the Financial Action Task Force(FATF) anti-money laundering “grey list” after more than two years of trying. The jurisdiction was listed in February 2021 due to a failure to successfully prosecute or sanction those involved in financial crime. FATF announced the decision to de-list Cayman following the […]
Owen ‘not worried’ about upcoming budget
(CNS): Governor Jane Owen has dismissed concerns that the UK might step in to oversee public finances after the PACT Government presents its last budget for this administration next month. Six months after taking up her post, Britain’s representative in the Cayman Islands told CNS that she is “not worried” at this stage about the […]
