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Budget strategy "clear and consistent"
The Financial Secretary, the Hon Sir Hamish Macleod, said the strategy for this year's Budget was "clear and consistent".
Delivering this year's Budget to the Legislative Council today (Wednesday), he said four principal components to this strategy had been adopted.
Sir Hamish said: "First, inevitably, is the need to control government expenditure so that, over time, it grows no faster than the economy as a whole.
"This means in practice that we cannot do everything we would like to do immediately. We have to set priorities annually, in an orderly and well thought through process.
"Secondly, to provide the funds for the programmes announced in the Governor's annual Policy Address and in the Policy Commitments.
"This means living up to past promises and refusing to undertake new commitments where these would be beyond our means.
"Thirdly, to maintain reserves adequate to provide a cushion against future. contingencies.
"Especially during this transitional period, this means taking a highly prudent view of the volatility to which an economy as open as ours may be subject.
"Fourthly, to decide whether it is possible to reduce the burden on the taxpayer in the light of our overall economic and financial position."
Sir Hamish said a philosophy based on such an approach to the management of the public finances commanded wide support in the community.
He added that, however, striking the right balance between the individual elements of this strategy was not easy. "This is not a mechanical process," Sir Hamish said.
"Inevitably, then, there may be differences of opinion over how cautious a view we should take of our growth prospects and of future contingencies.