Dear Editor,
I write this brief note to clarify a mistake I made in my column “Notes on the withdrawal rules of the 2019 and 2021 NRF Acts” (SN: Jan 24, 2022). The mistake pertains to my misinterpretation of a specific phrase in the NRF Act of 2021. What I did not contemplate was “For any fiscal year” in the first schedule (page 32), which spells out how monies will be withdrawn on an annual basis.
This means that in each year after the 2022 Budget, the government can withdraw at least US$500 million in each fiscal year. The annual withdrawal can potentially come close to US$1 billion per budget in the very near future and exceed that amount in coming budgets, thereby representing an unprecedented level of stimulus in the history of the country.
I plan to correct the simulation in the next column. I apologize for the error in interpreting the law.
Yours faithfully,
Tarron Khemraj
