Cayman’s premier is among the 10 highest paid leaders in the world – earning a salary that is more than the UK prime minister and comparable with the US president.
The fixed salary for the position of premier in Cayman is CI$234,900 (US$282,000) tax free.
The UK prime minister earns just over US$200,000 before tax, which current leader Rishi Sunak reportedly paid at an effective rate of 22%, lowering his take-home pay to around $156,000.
The US president earns $400,000 before tax, with incumbent Joe Biden paying a tax rate of 24%, taking his salary down to just over $300,000.
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, who took over the role from Wayne Panton on 15 Nov., gets healthcare and pension benefits on top of her salary. She also receives KY $180,000 in a combination of allowances under constituency, housing, travel and premier’s executive, according to information contained in an auditor general’s report released this week.
Of course, there is a vast amount of additional perks for other countries’ leaders. The US president, for example, gets a $50,000 expense account, a $100,000 travel account and $19,000 for entertainment and accommodation at the White House.
The UK prime minister gets his housing covered at 10 Downing Street, the official address of the government leader, among other things.
And those prestigious roles come with a host of commercial opportunities once the stint in the top job is over.
But just comparing after-tax salaries, with no consideration of benefits, Cayman’s politicians are well matched with their international peers, despite the relatively small size of the jurisdiction and comparatively limited scope of the role.
In fact, the wage paid to Cayman’s premier is in the top 10 globally.
On the face of it, the similarity in salaries between O’Connor-Connolly, who secured her seat in Parliament by obtaining 266 votes in Cayman Brac to beat rival Elvis McKeever, and Joe Biden, who received more than 80 million votes to win the US election, seems anomalous.
But politicians, past and present, and analysts outside of the House, who spoke to the Compass for this story, argue the premier’s salary – which is in line with the top ‘A5’ increment for salaried civil servants in Cayman – is appropriate for the job and the cost of living.
The selection process for politicians might be flawed, but the pay is appropriate to the role, was a common sentiment.
Price of milk
Ezzard Miller, the former MP for North Side, was one of the first advocates of fixed salaries for politicians in Cayman.
Referencing the fact that Cayman’s premier earns almost double the British prime minister, he said, “A gallon of milk is three times more expensive in Cayman than in the UK.”
It’s not just about the cost of living. When Miller was first elected, he said, MPs were paid $20 a meeting and only when Parliament or committees were in session.
He brought a motion which ultimately led to MPs receiving salaries equivalent to the civil servants who worked with them.
High-value job
Miller argues the job has value and should be well compensated. And he believes, in theory, that reasonable salaries – on a par with what the brightest and best of Cayman could earn in the private sector – should encourage a higher calibre of candidate to put themselves forward for election.
“You can’t expect people to give up a decent professional career to serve the country if the salary is not at least reasonable.”
Whether the carrot of better salaries has worked to improve the quality of candidates, Miller is less convinced. But he says the wage is appropriate for a high-value job.
Decent salaries for MPs also reduce the risk of corruption, he noted.
Former Premier Sir Alden McLaughlin, speaking in 2020, when asked if his Cabinet would take a pay cut to help out Cayman during COVID-19, countered, “I’m not sure where this idea that ministers and MLAs are so well paid comes from. I can tell you this – almost 20 years since I left my firm, I earn less as premier now than I did then in actual dollars, not counting the inflation and whatever else has occurred, cost-of-living increases, since then. So, for people who believe that somehow this is a cushy job, you got another thing coming.”
Pay varies across the world
The pay for Cayman’s premier is broadly in the same ballpark as that of many world leaders. The leaders of major world powers, like Germany and Australia, and smaller countries like Bermuda, which has a similar economy to Cayman, are paid similar amounts.
Notably, Cayman salaries are tax free but the premier’s role comes with fewer perks than in larger countries.
The outliers globally are Singapore and Hong Kong, which pay significantly more to their heads of state.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong is the highest paid country leader in the world, receiving US$1.6 million annually, according to Business Insider.
Top 10 highest paid world leaders:
The following list aggregates the top 10 pre-tax salaries for world leaders, converted to US dollars for ease of comparison. Tax is charged differently in each of the applicable countries but the Cayman premier’s tax-free salary of U$282,000 would likely come in around number 6 on this list (after deducting taxes in the various countries), as compiled by World Population Review, which doesn’t include territories.
10. Canada, $279,000
9. Japan, $316,521
8. New Zealand, $325,546
7. Austria, $338,094
6. Germany, $368,727
5. Australia, $586,768
4. US, $400,000
3. Switzerland, $495,000
2. Hong Kong, $568,4002
- Singapore, $1.6 million
Selected others*
Cayman: $282,000 (tax free)
Bermuda: $207,285
UK: $202,000
Jamaica: $58,000
* Source: Government reports in individual countries
Related Videos
