Curtis Dickinson, the Minister of Finance delivering the Budget for 2020-21 at the House of Assembly today.

Here are the highlights from his speech:

• Programmes in the Department of Child and Family Services will receive an increase of $750,000. Some of this will go towards the Psycho-Educational Programme.

• A transitional living regime will be established for children who are too old for the care of Child and Family Services, offering a residential programme and a community based programme.

• A new fire truck and ambulance will be bought for the Bermuda Fire and Rescue Services, and airport fire service buildings will be upgraded.

• “The pending restructuring of the BTA may cause some of its grant to be redirected.”

• An Uptown Development Authority will be established to drive residential development projects in North-East Hamilton.

• The Economic Development Department will be put in place this year.

• Cabinet Office will get extra funding to put together an “implementation team” to drive ideas suggested by Bermuda First.

• The health ministry is currently paying more than $600,000 for two individuals in overseas mental health institutions.

• Debt services costs are projected at $121.4 million.

• Government is considering ways to enhance debt collection.

• A professional services tax will not be introduced.

• Immigration fees will be increased by 5 per cent.

• Large ship infrastructure tax will increase from $22 per passenger to $25.

• More applause as the minister announces that for the first time in 24 years there will be no increase on car licences.

• Amendments will be made to the sugar tax to allow greater discretion for customs officers to waive duties for items containing relatively small amounts of sugar.

• The customs duty deferral process will be made more user friendly.

• A zero rate of customs duty will be placed on imported capital goods intended for the renovation and refurbishment of retail shops.

• The rate on cigarettes containing tobacco substitutes will be raised in line with the rate of cigarettes.

• The yield from customs duty is estimated at $235 million.

• The Taxi Industry Payroll Tax scheme will be expanded to all people with public service vehicles.

• Payroll tax yield will be $467 million.

• The total impact of payroll tax relief will be reduction in payroll tax yield of about $6.4 million.

• Payroll tax relief will be extended for employers with payrolls of $500,000 and more.

• Revenue estimate for 2020-21 is $1.122 billion, 0.3 per cent higher than this year.

• Gross public debt will stand at $2.717 billion on March 31, 2021. Debt, net of the Sinking Fund, will be $2.678 billion — $72.4 million below the debt ceiling.

• Government anticipates long-term borrowing of $19.8 million.

• The new Budget has a current account surplus of $186.6 million which will cover interest on debt.

• The Government plans to run a budget deficit of $19.8 million in 2020-21.

• The 2020-21 Budget allocates $1.141 billion in total spending — a $30.9 million increase on this year.

• The Sinking Fund balance will be $38.9 million at the end of 2019-20.

• Net debt on March 31 will be $2.658 billion.

• The revised estimate of the deficit is $14.6 million — $22 million more than the $7.4 million surplus which was projected.

• Debt services forecast at $2.7 million above the estimate of $116.5 million due to Caroline Bay.

• Revised capital expenditures are predicted at $66.1 million, 2 per cent above the budget, due to a delay in receipt of new buses and additional funding to resurface the track at the National Sports Centre.

• Departments have had to find savings to cope with a 2.5 per cent salary increase awarded to some public officers.

• Projected operating expanses of 2019-20 are $940.2 million, 1.1 per cent higher that originally budgeted, mainly due to $3 million provided to secure winter air service from New York and Boston and subsidy funding of $7.8 million for the Bermuda Hospitals Board.

• Government is forecast to earn $1.111 billion in 2019-20, 0.7 per cent less than the original estimate, due to low returns on stamp duty, hotel occupancy taxes and fees for sale of land to non-Bermudians. Payroll tax did yield higher than expected collections.

• Government is working to support start-up and co-operative companies who want to supply foods at lower prices by partnering with the Financial Assistance programme to reduce costs.

• More applause from the House as Mr Dickinson announces the Cost of Living Commission Act will be amended to require reporting of prices from grocers to the Government. That information will be made available to the public via mobile app.

• A mortgage guarantee programme will be piloted to reduce mortgage rates for some Bermudian families.

• Government is “focused on bringing needed reforms that make our healthcare system more efficient while reducing co-pays and providing better coverage for preventive care”.

• A Green Energy Fund will provide capital to deploy solar installations throughout the island.

• A new private family office product will be introduced to “meet the needs of ultra-high net worth individuals who require a different wealth management model to meet their estate planning objectives”.

• A financial conduct oversight entity will be established to protect the interests of consumers of financial products and services.

• The Government will provide assistance of up to $250,000 towards a business plan to see how a Union Deposit Company, under the watch of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, could compete with “established players”.

• Government will work with banks to deliver a mortgage guarantee programme to bring lower financing costs to middle class families seeking to secure mortgages of $750,000 or less.

• Cheers from the floor as Mr Dickinson announces: “In this year’s Budget, there are no proposals for any new taxes.”

• Selective tax cuts will be aimed at reducing payroll taxes for those earning less than $96,000.

• Payroll tax burden will be asked for businesses with the introduction of two new employer payroll tax bands between $200,000 and $500,000.

• Additional funds will be available to investments in IT to make government “work better”.

• Capital development spending will be increased 36 per cent to $60.1 million to fund school repairs, building repairs, relocation of courts and road repairs.

• Government will provide an extra $1 million in capital spending to support local improvements in St George’s and other local communities.

• A $2 million grant will be provided over two years for community club development.

• $1.5 million will be allocated over two years for the development of a fishing co-operative in Southside.

• The renovation and move of the Marine and Ports HQ and workshop will be delivered.

• Government will “deliver on our promise to take proper care of those young people who have aged out of the DCFS regime but need a base from which to live and work in the community”.

• MPs thump on desks in support of Mr Dickinson’s pledge that Government will deliver on its promise for mental health treatment for underserved populations.

• Government will advance measures to stimulate the real estate market this fiscal year. “Hard-working young Bermudians and their families must be at the forefront of our policymaking, along with those Bermudians who have invested in property and wish to see a legitimate return on that investment.”

• The first phase of the Ottiwell Simmons Arbitration Centre will begin next week with the demolition of the old police headquarters. Bermuda will “firmly establish itself as the jurisdiction of choice for dispute resolution”.

• Bermuda will devise and introduce a slate of annual events that drives visitors to Bermuda and better reflects its claim to be a luxury destination.

• Government will renew the efforts of the air service development to expand airlift capacity from key markets.

• “We must restructure the Bermuda Tourism Authority to focus more directly on its sales and marketing role.”

• Government will introduce a bill reducing the required ownership of a local company from 60 per cent Bermudian to 40 per cent Bermudian.

• The size of Government has decreased from 4,470 people in December 2016 to 4,446 in December 2019.

• Bermuda now has almost 100 more jobs in international business and business services than it did two years ago.

• Bermuda had 355 more tourism jobs at the end of 2019 than it did in 2017.

• 50 new jobs have been created in the fintech industry locally.

• Bermuda’s GDP has increased by between 1 and 2 per cent in 2019, following growth of 0.1 per cent in 2018.

• The Government will continue to find ways to help the struggling retail sector, Mr Dickinson pledges.

• Mr Dickinson begins his speech by explaining Bermuda is attempting to grapple with the twin demographic forces of ageing population and declining birth rate.