Photo credit: krblokhin via iStock
Treasurer Ian Ling-Stuckey cites the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) 6.8% inflation forecast for Papua New Guinea.
“PNG’s economy can be greatly affected by shifts in the global economy,” he said.
“The latest IMF World Economic Outlook released last week increased inflation predictions for developing countries to an extraordinary 9.5 per cent average in 2022.
“In contrast, the latest IMF prediction for PNG is 6.8 per cent.
“In these challenging times, PNG needs good economic management to protect PNG from the buffering seas of the international economy,” he said.
The expense of living burden brought on by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, he claimed, has been managed by the government.
“The K611 million household assistance package announced back in April has already removed all taxes from retail fuel products,” he said.
“Wage earners are receiving up to K42.30 per fortnight due to the reduction in taxes because the tax-free threshold has been moved from K12,500 to K17,500.
“The Department of Education is working with the Treasury to fund all legal school project fee costs in 2022.
“And the IRC is working to reduce prices of key commodities such as rice and tinned fish.”
Reference: The National (1 August 2022). “IMF predicts 6.8pc inflation”.
