Bermuda’s economy is moving in the right direction “during an uncertain time” in the world, the Premier and Minister of Finance said today.

At a post-Budget press conference at the Cabinet Office, David Burt said that the Government continued to honour its obligations to residents, while undertaking strong financial control.

He said the island’s economy was not perfect and some people may still be struggling but noted that the statistics on the performance of the economy had “confirmed that we are moving in the right direction”.

Mr Burt said the 2025 Budget made it possible for the Government to invest significantly in public services, social spending, health, housing, transportation, education, security and infrastructure.

He added: “These investments represent a deliberate strategy to strengthen Bermuda’s physical and digital infrastructure, improve service delivery and ensure that the island is well positioned for continued long-term economic and social resilience.”

Mr Burt said the Government continued to deliver targeted tax relief that benefited families and businesses and which will ultimately impacted the cost of living.

Among the targeted interventions, from January 1, 2026 the base rate on land tax will be reduced by 50 per cent from $300 to $150.

On April 1, the Government will make further reductions, such as to the private car licensing fee, which will decrease by 10 per cent.

Mr Burt said the combination of the reductions would save the average family $1,000 a year and added to other benefits such as reductions in customs duties and payroll taxes.

The Premier said in this year’s Budget, $53.6 million was allocated for the Cabinet Office, an increase of $4 million when compared with last year.

He added that the additional funding was to provide support, through $975,000 in funding, to digital transformation to improve online services throughout the Government, while making more use of artificial intelligence to improve service delivery to residents.

Funding to boost the Department of Information and Digital Technology, the Department of Planning and expansion of the public service bursary programme is covered by the allocation.

Mr Burt said: “These additional investments for the Cabinet Office are laser-focused on improving the delivery of government services while investing in training and development for the future of the public service.”

He added: “The data in this year’s Budget speaks for itself, we are not where we were, we are no longer in recovery mode.

“The progress is here today, thanks to this Government’s sound economic and financial management.

“We are stronger, more stable and well positioned for a brighter future.”

On Friday, Douglas De Couto, the Shadow Minister of Finance, accused the Government of taking credit for economic growth, which he said was driven by international business.

Dr De Couto said the Budget relied heavily on the IB sector and expected revenues from the corporate income tax — an expectation he later described as being over-reliant.

However, Mr Burt said the Government had received “zero credit” for maintaining a strong IB sector over the years.

He said in 2017, the IB sector was affected by US tax cuts and later, by other factors such as the Covid-19 pandemic.

Since then, he said the sector has experienced job growth, with record increases in such jobs being held by foreigners and locals.

Mr Burt added: “The reality is that it is because of this Government’s sound economic management, working with the private sector and with the regulators continuing to promote Bermuda’s international business sector overseas that we have seen this growth.”