Posted on 03/22/2009 4:56:51 AM PDT by RU88
CARACAS, Venezuela — Falling oil prices are pushing Venezuela to boost sales taxes, sell debt and revise its 2009 budget to reflect an expected 6.7 percent decrease in income, President Hugo Chavez said Saturday.
The socialist leader said he will ask lawmakers to increase sales taxes on goods and services to 12 percent from 9 percent in a bid to make up for plunging state revenue in the oil-rich nation.
The government now expects $72.7 billion in income, and the revised budget anticipates crude prices of $40 a barrel, not the $60-a-barrel forecast by lawmakers last year, Chavez said in a televised speech.
Venezuela will also sell an additional $22 billion in bonds to raise cash this year, bringing internal public debt to $60 billion by year's end, Chavez announced, giving no details on the issue date, term or interest rate the debt will carry.
The government may be forced to reign in years of steep increases in public outlays, Chavez added, promising that salaries for high-level public officials would be cut. He said he would send a revised budget to the legislature, which is controlled by his allies, in coming days.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I say back off and let them do their own self destructing.
Perhaps the reason W didn’t go after them is because at the time of Chavez’s takeover they were in a pretty substantial position.
At least we don’t have to bail them out... yet. Wait for higher oil prices to do it.
One would have to be crazy to buy their debt. You know he will default right after getting the money.
Well, oil has been moving up lately. Up 10%+ over the past couple of weeks.
It looks like we could be back in the $60-70+ by summer.
And as inflation starts hitting, we could be back at $100+ by fall.
The only way this will happen is if the dollar falls off a cliff (a possibility with all of the monopoly money floating around). I don’t see world wide demand picking up for quite some time and these oil producers, due to their own greed, have continually cheated on production cuts.
I was just thinking the same thing. Now who do they think is going to come along and purchase 20 Billion dollars in debt?
I have always said that $2.00 a gallon is fair for everyone. I fear it will hit close to $5.00 by the second hurrican warning this summer. I swear I hope I’m wrong.
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