Trinidad and Tobago presents TT$63.3 billion budget, proposes tax changes
Key Points(5)
- Trinidad and Tobago’s government has presented a TT$63.3 billion budget for fiscal 2027, proposing a range of tax changes aimed at increasing revenue, alongside measures to provide tax relief to pensioners and expand investment opportunities.
- Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo presented the budget to Parliament on Monday, projecting revenue of TT$59.73 billion and expenditure of TT$63.37 billion, leaving a fiscal deficit of TT$3.64 billion, equivalent to 2.1% of gross domestic product (GDP).
- The budget assumes an oil price of US$77 per barrel and a natural gas price of US$5 per million British thermal units.
- Among the proposed measures, the government plans to limit businesses’ use of carried-forward losses to 75% of chargeable profits in a given year, effective January 1, 2027.
- The measure is expected to generate TT$430 million.
Trinidad and Tobago’s government has presented a TT$63.3 billion budget for fiscal 2027, proposing a range of tax changes aimed at increasing revenue, alongside measures to provide tax relief to pensioners and expand investment opportunities.
Finance Minister Davendranath Tancoo presented the budget to Parliament on Monday, projecting revenue of TT$59.73 billion and expenditure of TT$63.37 billion, leaving a fiscal deficit of TT$3.64 billion, equivalent to 2.1% of gross domestic product (GDP).
The budget assumes an oil price of US$77 per barrel and a natural gas price of US$5 per million British thermal units.
Among the proposed measures, the government plans to limit businesses’ use of carried-forward losses to 75% of chargeable profits in a given year, effective January 1, 2027. The measure is expected to generate TT$430 million.
The government also proposes increasing the unemployment levy on petroleum companies from 5% to 8% and raising withholding taxes on certain distributions to non-residents.
Other measures include applying value-added tax to digital services supplied by non-resident providers, effective March 1, 2027, and amending withholding tax rules for payments to overseas service providers.
Meanwhile, the government plans to increase the annual personal allowance for pensioners to TT$102,000 from January 1, 2027, providing an estimated TT$11 million in tax relief.
The budget also proposes a five-cent-per-kilowatt-hour surcharge on residential electricity consumption exceeding 3,000 kilowatt-hours per billing period. The measure is expected to generate TT$17.8 million and help fund electricity subsidies for low-consumption households.
In the financial sector, the government plans to introduce savings bonds in Trinidad and Tobago and US dollars, allowing individuals to invest in government securities in smaller amounts.
Tancoo said the wider budget aims to attract investment, expand production, create jobs and strengthen economic resilience.
The budget debate is scheduled to begin Friday.
