Burt: island’s finances standing strong
Bermuda’s finances are better now than in a generation, the Premier and Minister of Finance declared today.
At a post-Budget press conference at the Cabinet Office, David Burt said the 2026-27 Budget continued moving the island in the right direction, with Government recognising that “there is still much more work to be done” to reduce taxes, cut debt and invest in infrastructure.
The Premier acknowledged business concerns on cutting the cost of operating in Bermuda.
Mr Burt said when he delivered his first Budget eight years ago in February 2018, the island had been burdened by austerity, flagging profits and public deficits.
The Premier said: “Today, Bermuda’s finances are stronger than they have been in a generation.
“We did not get there by accident. We got there through responsible choices, through the implementation of a corporate income tax that not everyone supported and that many of our competitors chose not to do.”
Mr Burt highlighted aspects of the revenue and spending blueprint for the 2026-27 fiscal year presented to the House of Assembly on Friday, including the repayment in full of the $605 million senior notes in debt maturing in January 2027.
He said the move — the single largest debt repayment in the island’s history — would bring gross debt down by 18 per cent, saving taxpayers $25 million annually in interest costs.
The Government projects total revenue in 2026-27 at $2 billion, with a budget surplus of $472.7 million.
CIT revenue is projected at $753.2 million. The Premier said the Government had decided against using the tax regime for the everyday costs of running the country, but “intends to enshrine fiscal rules into law to protect the island’s finances for what may come next”.
Mr Burt said the $605 million debt repayment — combined with “fiscal guardrails” — put the island on a “clear and credible path to eliminate net debt in a decade”.
Debt-to-GDP ratio is projected to fall below 19 per cent, an outcome Mr Burt deemed a “really big deal”, since the Fiscal Responsibility Panel had set a 50 per cent benchmark during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Mr Burt said the Budget delivers the largest tax cut for workers in the island’s history since no worker or business will pay more in payroll tax.
He said the Budget includes record investment in infrastructure as well as “significant capital” increases for education and housing.
On the cost of living, the Government continues to address affordability for Bermudians, reduce and eliminate custom duties on more essential goods as well as implement a 10 per cent reduction on private car licensing fees.
The Ministry of Finance will advance key tax framework reforms this year. Mr Burt noted that it plans to update its data collection processes, continue to address pension reform and re-impanel the Debt Management Committee.
He mentioned a one-time, 10 per cent pension increase for all public sector retirees, whose last increase was in 2014.
Legislation to effect the increase will go before MPs this year, with the uplift to take effect from April 1.
The Premier acknowledged a concern expressed by John Huff, the chief executive of the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers, that more was needed to reduce the cost of doing business.
Mr Burt said: “I think they would be accurate and correct.
“And as I said, in the choices that we lay out, we wanted to make further reductions to employment payroll tax.
“But a further reduction in employment payroll tax would mean that we would not be able to pay off the debt.
“A Minister of Finance wants to put forward a budget to the House of Assembly that is credible.
“There is a $50 million buffer in case things do not go well this year, because the most important thing in my estimation is to repay the $605 million of debt without having to finance that and subject the Government to that refinancing.”
He added: “This government has a history of making sure that if we have better-than-expected financial results, we go back and we continue to cut taxes and return those particular monies.”
Last Friday marked Mr Burt’s final Budget in the role.
Reflecting on his tenure, he shared one regret, from the 2023-24 Budget when the Government increased taxes on high-income earners and reduced them on low earners.
Mr Burt recalled: “There was a lot of noise from the business community going back and forth on this and I remember that I compromised.
“I guess the lesson is that you sometimes have to follow through with your plans.”
The Premier said he would be off-island this week for Caricom engagements, and would miss the Opposition’s Reply to the Budget.
Caricom heads of state and leaders of associate countries will gather for the 50th regular meeting of the Caribbean organisation in St Kitts & Nevis from tomorrow until Friday. According to a government spokeswoman, Bermuda’s progress to full membership will be “a key topic”.
Mr Burt will be accompanied by Alexa Lightbourne, the Minister of Home Affairs.
He will first attend the artificial intelligence conference Nearcon 2026 in San Francisco, where he will speak as well as leading a session titled “The Bermuda Triangle Approach to Innovation and AI as the Next Regulatory Frontier”.
Deputy Premier Zane DeSilva will serve as Acting Premier in his absence, with Junior Minister of Finance Wayne Furbert as Acting Minister of Finance.
• To read the Premier’s statement, see Related Media
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