The majority of MPs present in the Parliament of Guinea-Bissau on Wednesday approved in general the State Budget for 2021 presented by the Government, led by Nuno Gomes Nabiam, which foresees a tax increase for the population.
The State Budget was approved with 54 MPs voting in favour, with the New Democracy Party MP abstaining.
The President of Parliament did not participate in the vote.
Absent from the Chamber were the members of the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde (PAIGC), with the exception of five members of parliament who had already voted in favour of the government programme of Nuno Nabiam, four members of the United People’s Assembly of Guinea-Bissau (APU-PDGB) and the member of the Union for Change.
The budget submitted was around 253 billion cfa (around €386 million).
Nuno Nabiam said that the government had opted for a more restrictive budget, given that the responsibility for salaries is more than 50 percent of revenues, which makes investment impossible, and due to recommendations made by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.
The state budget for 2021 foresees an increase in taxes, namely through a tax on democracy, an audiovisual contribution rate, an import tax on construction materials, a tax on telecommunications, a sanitation tax and an increase in the business tax paid in some brackets.
Tax revenue is estimated at 120 billion cfa (around €182 million).
