Recently, Members of Parliament wrapped up their detailed debate on the Ministry of Finance’s budget. We heard from David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, and the junior minister Wayne Furbert about the ministry’s spending plans, and had the chance to ask detailed questions. But, as usual, some of the most important questions were the ones the Government did not answer at all.

The lack of response started earlier, on May 9, when we presented the Opposition’s official Reply to the Budget. This reply kicks off the General Economic Debate. Normally, government MPs would speak up during this debate to defend the Government’s budget and economic performance. But this time, the Premier and Minister of Finance left halfway through our presentation and didn’t return. After a few One Bermuda Alliance MPs spoke in support of our reply, no government minister got up to defend their own budget. As far as I know, this may be the first budget debate where no ministers even tried to defend their own financial plan.

A big part of this year’s budget depends on the new corporate income tax. It is the start of a trend where Bermuda will rely more and more on taxes from international businesses. That is why we focused many of our questions on the CIT — to judge how solid the Government’s estimates really are. While we got a few answers, many key questions were ignored.

For instance, we asked: how many companies will actually be paying the CIT?

This matters because if lots of companies are paying, we’re in a safer position. But if most of the tax is coming from just a few companies, we’re at risk. If even one or two of them leave or stop paying here, the Government’s income could take a big hit. The Premier said he was confident in the estimates, but did not — or would not — give a number. That’s a basic question, and it should be easy to answer.

We also asked if an independent review had been done on the Government’s CIT projections. In finance and insurance, it is standard to double-check major forecasts by having someone else review the numbers or even use a different approach. This helps to confirm the assumptions and improves confidence. From what the Premier said, it does not look like that was done.

Lastly, we asked how the Government will decide how much of the CIT revenue to put aside in the “tax refund reserve fund” and how much to use for spending. This reserve is important because some of the tax collected might need to be refunded after companies file their 2025 returns in late 2026.

Again, the Premier didn’t answer.

We had hoped this debate would leave us feeling confident in the CIT forecasts and comfortable with the budget overall. Instead, the Government’s refusal to answer even basic questions raises more concerns than it resolves.

I encourage you to ask your MP the same questions we asked — and see if you can get clearer answers.

• Douglas De Couto is the Shadow Minister of Finance and the MP for Warwick North East (Constituency 25)