The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Industry and Commerce says it hoped to see more effort from government to further reduce the national deficit.

The 2021 fiscal package which was read by the Finance Minister on Monday, includes a deficit of $8.209 billion.

“While the Minister has projected revenue estimated at $41.361B, and expenditure $49.573B with a fiscal deficit of $8.209bn for fiscal year 2021, we believe more detail is required with regards to the income from non-energy as it appears high. We also would have liked to see more effort towards tightening government expenditure to reduce the deficit,” the Chamber said in a statement.

As it relates to government’s plan to move towards a “liberalized fuel market” (See what that means for you by clicking here), the Chamber believes this is a positive move.

“The positive adjustment to the Supplemental Petroleum Tax (SPT) regime will have a significant impact on small producers, where we expect increased activity. We are also encouraged by the statement that the Petroleum Act will be reviewed. Hopefully this can be done sooner rather than later.”

While it says the Government’s push to start the energy transition is “encouraging”, it believes greater focus must be made on energy conservation and reducing wastage.

“We encourage the government to lay out a clear long-term plan for the energy transition, which if successfully done, will create opportunities for investment,” it said.