Isle of Man set to spend £1.2 billion as government outlines financial plan in annual budget

Dr Alex Allinson, Isle of Man Treasury Minister: "We're taking £152 million from reserves, to fund a £1.2 billion budget"

Politicians in the Isle of Man have approved a £1.2 billion spending plan to be utilised over the next 12 months.

In his first budget in his new role, Treasury Minister Dr Alex Allinson has allocated over a billion pounds to be spent, equating to £15,243 per person.

To achieve this, a total of £152m has been taken out of reserves.

However, the Minister said: "We have a strategy to start reducing that dependency on reserves that we relied upon during Covid to keep that economy going".

23 of the 24 members in Tynwald voted in favour of the annual budget. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

Other changes include seeing a greater increase in taxes for those earning over £100,000.

Personal tax allowances will be cut by £1 for every £2 that an individual's total income is over £100,000.

However, there is no change to the £14,500 income tax personal allowance.

The largest financial uplift has been allocated to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), with a £20.5m increase and £8.5m from the National Insurance reserve fund.

This is followed by the Department of Education, Sport and Culture (DESC), receiving an £11.5m increase.

  • "We're investing in public services"

Other financial changes on the island include an increase in social security benefits by around 10%.

The disability living allowances and child benefits are also among those rising by 9.8%, and the maternity, paternity and adoption allowance will increase by 16.8%.

The basic state pension will also rise by 10.1%, including the Manx state pension.

A total of £230m will be given to capital projects to be used over the next five years.

These include:

  • £3.36m to upgrade the King Edward VIII Pier.

  • £2.3m to deliver a Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

  • £780,000 to replace radiology equipment at Noble's Hospital.

  • £495,000 for mobile classrooms.

Despite operating as an independent nation, the Isle of Man is still dependent on what happens in the United Kingdom.

"We have a lot of vacancies in various firms that can't expand their services because they lack that workforce."

He continued: "One of the key parts of the budget is to make sure that the Isle of Man is still a competitive and a welcoming place for new economically active people to move over to".

"We are not immune to price increases"

The Isle of Man budget was approved in Tynwald after 23 of the 24 politicians voted in favour of the spending plans.

Minister Allinson concluded: "There is still a lot of unanswered questions about what this year will bring to us.

"But by having a stable balanced budget, I think we can give that confidence to actually grow our economy and produce more wealth for the people who live here."

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