Isle of Man Treasury publishes Island spending plans in 2022 budget

Video report by Isle of Man Reporter Joshua Stokes

The Isle of Man Treasury has laid out the spending plans for the Island over the next year in the 2022 Budget.

Treasury Minister, David Ashford MHK, has described the budget as 'optimistic' following the Covid-19 pandemic, and said there will 'limited or no long-term scarring to the economy' following the crisis.

Within the announcement was money assigned to healthcare, capital projects and a fund specifically targeting climate change.

The total government gross spending for 2022-23 equates to around £14,044 per head for everyone in the Isle of Man.

Minister Ashford added that a lot of the economic pressure comes from rising inflation with spikes peaking at 6.5%, causing an increase in the cost of living and on capital programme costs for government.

Mitch Sorbie, owner of the 'Just Pizza and Pasta' restaurant, moved to new premises during one of the Island's lockdowns and has been struggling to fully recover as a result.

Mitch said he was "dead in the water" for 12 weeks before he was able to get people back to work, causing major disruption to his business. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

He also said the increase of the minimum wage has a "full knock-on effect' to the business with the outgoing costs.

Tynwald are due to be asked to support a £1.25 increase to £9.50 per hour to help keep the island "competitive".

The Budget at a glance

  • An increase to the personal income tax allowance of £250 to £14,500 - lifting approximately 300 people out of the tax net and reduce income tax by up to £50 for individuals and £100 for jointly-assessed couples.

  • State pension increased by 3.1%.

  • Approximately 3,300 individual and families on low incomes will benefit from increases in Income Support and Jobseeker’s Allowance.

  • £42 million allocated to climate change across both revenue and capital budgets.

  • £16.68 million has been allocated within the Budget in relation to new services and growth funding to Manx Care.

  • £2.74 million will enable the Department of Education, Sport and Culture to increase Additional Educational Needs provision.

  • £1.2 million has been allocated to the Department for Enterprise’s Motorsport Division to support the return of the TT and MGP.

  • £314,000 will allow the Department of Home Affairs to meet the running costs ofthe Sexual Assault Referral Centre.

  • A five-year capital investment programme of £485.3 million includes a dedicated Sexual Assault Referral Centre, funding for the continued roll out of the fibre optic network, completion of the Balthane Gateway, an upgrade to King Edward Pier and improvements to visitor facilities at the Sea Terminal.

  • £10 million have been allocated to the Economic Fund to continue to support the Island’s recovery from the pandemic.

  • £2 million to support the work of the Housing and Communities Board.

  • The Healthcare Transformation Fund will be topped up by a further £7 million to support the ongoing implementation of recommendations from the Sir Jonathan Michael report.

  • The TT Homestay concession will become an income tax allowance, with the tax-free amount increasing to £2,350.

The Treasury Minister made the budget announcement in Tynwald, the Island's parliament. Credit: ITV Granada Reports

The most significant economic event for the Isle of Man is the iconic annual TT races, which have been cancelled for the past two years due to the pandemic.

Minister Ashford confirmed they would be going ahead, but was not willing to put an estimate on how much money he hopes it will bring this year.

In 2019, the the TT and Festival of Motorcycling brought in £31.7m to the wider Manx economy and supported 815 jobs, according to a Cabinet Office report.

This year, the races are due to return on Saturday 28 May to Friday 10 June 2022.