Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Tongan budget outlines tax initiaitves to cut cost of living

Posted at 04:31 on 10 April, 2008 UTC

The Tonga government says its budget for the coming year includes a number of tax initiatives aimed at reducing the cost of living for the general public.

The removal of fuel import duties for domestic air and shipping companies is intended to reduce the cost of fares and freight to the outer islands.

It’s also hoped that the removal of import duties on fresh, chilled, and frozen meat and poultry will reduce the cost of basic foodstuffs.

The government says the creation of the 2008/2009 budget has been a joint effort, with the ministries setting their own revenue and expenditure targets.

Government revenue for the next budget year is estimated at over 90 million US dollars, a US 16 million dollar increase over the 2007/08 budget.