By Stephen Cummings
Caribbean Net News Trinidad and Tobago Correspondent
Email: stephen@caribbeannetnews.com

PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad: Trinidad and Tobago's TT$42 billion budget for 2008 has been passed after being debated in both the upper and lower houses of Parliament.

The budget was passed shortly after 8 o'clock on Thursday evening.

Eight days of heated debate from opposition and government members, including independent senators, followed the budget presentation by Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Fiscal Operations for 2008

The budget for 2008 is couched in the context of projected real GDP growth of 7 percent and an average inflation rate of 6 percent in 2008 (a 12-month rate of 5 percent as at December 2008).

The budget is also predicated on very conservative oil and gas price assumptions of US$50 per barrel for oil (compared with an average realised price of US$61.57 in 2007) and gas price of US$3.55 per mmbtu.

Based on these assumptions, total revenue is forecast at TT$40,381.2 million, comprising energy sector revenue of TT$15,363.6 million and non-energy tax collections of TT$18,654.6 million.

On the expenditure side, government intend to appropriate TT$36,477.2 million from the Consolidated Fund while it estimates TT$5,783.7 million as the direct charges on the Consolidated Fund and other special funds.

This makes budgeted total expenditure in 2008 at TT$42,260.9 million.

Of the total expenditure:

Education and training received TT$7.6 billion
National Security has been allocated TT$4.4 billion
Health - TT$3.7 billion
Housing - TT$2.6 billion
Works and Transport TT$2.6 billion
Agriculture TT$1.2 billion