The measures to finance the budget were not as bad as we had anticipated them to be. We are quite delighted with the measures as it relates to the transfer tax and the stamp duty and the other measures in terms of the upliftment of the threshold. But there are lot more things we need to find out and we are dissecting it, but, in all, we thought it was a good presentation and there is going to be a lot for the people of Jamaica to benefit from.

It's the start of a reform Budget. I have always thought of consumption taxes as pretty regressive, but when you look at our system where the tax base is so narrow, where much of the population are not paying taxes, increasing the net so that it falls on almost everybody, particularly on items that people have a choice as how much they consume - you can economise on fuel usage. It is, however, make things more difficult for those at the lower end who have to take taxis and so on - because public transportation fares are definitely going up, whether it is an official increase or black-market increase.

Under the circumstances, I think it is a balanced Budget. I think there is a lot of give-and-take in it - he emphasised a lot on improving government performances and efficiency.

I think the consolidation of the statutory deduction is a very good move, also improvement in the efficiency of the Inland Revenue Offices and in dealing with the whole corruption issues along with the central treasury management system, that for me is a central part and it is gonna yield many benefits.

The increase of the income-tax threshold is a very bold move and will really benefit the working man who has been bearing a lot of the brunt recently.

I think the reduction in stamp duty and transfer tax is very good and should stimulate the movement of real estate, which will help to drive the economy. The fact that he did not forget the pensioners is vital because they have already put their time in and deserve a comfortable sunset.