Budget 2024-25: concerns about the repercussions of the measures

Several firms published their Budget brief or “highlights” after the Minister of Finance’s speech. Not ignoring the electoral context in which the measures were developed, the authors of the various documents evoke the country's economic challenges which would have deserved better attention.

KPMG: a tax increase could occur

A third of the total budgeted expenditure for the year will be devoted to social protection. At KPMG, we call for caution. Because a high level of public intervention and spending, it is argued, could easily lead to higher taxes over time and create a dependency that could impact productivity in the long term.

Several factors have direct and induced consequences on local prices. These include the risks of future depreciation of the rupee, uncertainty over the duration of conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and in the Middle East, as well as rising transport costs. Given these external factors which are beyond our control, at KPMG we believe that providing greater financial support appears to be the appropriate solution in the short term. “In the longer term, however, it is absolutely vital that the country achieves the targeted and higher economic growth, otherwise the burden and pressure will be cruelly felt on the public debt,” write the authors of the Budget highlights published by KPMG Mauritius.

However, the firm deplores the absence of any real attempt to reverse the migration of Mauritian talents abroad. We also note that there were no bold structural changes to answer the many economic questions while the 2024-25 Budget was a pre-election exercise.

AXYS – Salary readjustment: expectations were not met

The importance of the 2024-25 Budget was considerable for the current government. Citizens' expectations were high due to the election year. At AXYS, we affirmed ahead of the budget speech that it was imperative for the government to find a balance between economic policies that chart the path for future generations and social initiatives aimed at mitigating the effects of inflation.

Some of the challenges facing the country, namely high inflation, a depreciating rupee, an aging population, and a shortage of skilled labor due to immigration, are urgent. Urgent measures were therefore necessary to respond. The Mauritian rupee, which has lost 46% against the dollar over the last decade, fuels the problem of inflation. “This devaluation of the currency has had profound repercussions on the prices of essential goods, medicines and raw materials used in production processes,” we understand at AXYS.

The 2024-25 Budget is a continuation of the four previous Budgets of the current government. Various measures have been introduced to support the most vulnerable, including the elderly and those earning less than Rs 20,000. However, “expectations for salary readjustment (for middle-income earners) have not been met », It is underlined in the firm's Budget Brief.

Fazeel Soyfoo, Partner International Tax at Andersen: “This year, even more so, implementation and execution will be crucial”

The 2024-25 Budget is described as generous in social gifts and benefits by Fazeel Soyfoo. Partner International Tax at Andersen sees the new guaranteed minimum “income” of Rs 20,000 per month for all employees as the main announcement.

What about Reagan's so-called question: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?” “. Partner International Tax at Andersen argues that this is the ultimate question in assessing whether the reforms have worked. But, he says, the jury is still out. “Ultimately, the success of the Budget will depend on the rapid and effective implementation of the measures announced. This year, even more so, implementation and execution will be crucial. Being an election year, any commitments for the future may well depend on the outcome of this election,” notes Fazeel Soyfoo.

Shamin Sookia, Managing Director of Perigeum Capital: “The various measures will have to stand the test of time”

The 2024-25 Budget contains, according to Shamin Sookia, a series of crucial measures to allow the economy to reach heights in the years to come. However, the Managing Director of Perigeum Capital emphasizes that the various measures announced in the Budget “will have to stand the test of time and implementation”.

In his editorial written following the budget presentation, Shamin Sokia believes that the 2024-2025 Budget was presented in a global context mired in troubled waters. On the one hand, he observes, the two warring groups are on the verge of triggering a global confrontation with all the resulting impacts in terms of nuclear contamination, starving populations and all-out destruction. On the other hand, the imminent need to address urgent issues related to climate change which is impacting the entire planet, leaving villages and towns in confusion, flooded and partially decimated.