Finance Minister Rolston Anglin has defended government’s multi-million-dollar package of fee increases and insisted they will not significantly impact the cost of living in Cayman.
The minister said delays in implementation on some fees were about fine-tuning the details rather than rethinking the concept and wouldn’t prevent government from balancing the budget.
Anglin said the increases were necessary to fund significant government spending on areas like health care for people without proper insurance, which have required massive supplementary spending bills in previous years.
“We could easily underfund the budget like has been done for a good decade … I took the view that we were going to produce a truthful and honest budget,” he said.
The minister also defended controversial plans for a two-tier driving licence fee, that would mean work permit holders and permanent residents pay eight times more for the right to drive in Cayman.
He said government plans to go ahead with the increase and pointed to a carve-out in the Constitution that he says protects the government from claims of unfairness.
‘Fees won’t hurt man on street’
Speaking on Compass TV’s Forefront show on 26 Feb., the minister said the revenue measures were deliberately designed to avoid burdening ordinary residents and to fall on higher-value transactions and sectors.
“We wanted to ensure we put as many fees as possible in areas of the economy that would not have any material impact on cost of living,” he said.
Anglin rejected suggestions that the measures would hurt the “average man on the street”.
Collectively the fee increases – which include a new 10% stamp duty rate on property transfers valued over $2 million, higher administrative fees tied to work permits, new levies on financial services firms, and increases in certain licensing fees – are projected to raise $177 million over the next two years.
The Opposition has highlighted concerns that delayed implementation could mean government can’t raise enough money to fund its spending plans.
Anglin dismissed that criticism, saying the bulk of the fees had already been implemented and the others would be in place shortly. He added that property transactions and early renewals of licences ahead of fee changes had boosted revenue in the short term.
Addressing concerns about work permit costs, Anglin said misinformation had circulated about the changes, which are focused on administration fees.
“There are no increases in work permit fees. What there is an increase in the administration fee,” he said.
For most lower-income categories, the filing fee rises from $100 to $150. Larger increases apply to higher-paid professional categories, such as doctors, lawyers and accountants.
“A $50 increase in the admin fee is not a material amount,” he said.
Driving licence increase still planned
Anglin also defended the planned driver’s licence fee structure that would see work permit holders and permanent residents pay substantially more than Caymanians.
Reading from the Constitution, he said government is permitted to differentiate on the basis of nationality when imposing fees.
“Government would certainly not have gone down this road if we were not secure around these protections.”
Though implementation has been delayed, Anglin explained that as procedural rather than political hesitation saying, “There’s some administrative work that has to happen before they can fully implement it.”
Some concerns have been raised about the ability of locals to prove Caymanian status. Anglin didn’t address that point in the interview.
Premier André Ebanks has previously indicated that new digital ID cards would help Caymanians prove eligibility for the lower fee category.
Related Videos
Wages for workers and business revenues not going up but fees and taxes and everything on island is. Something isn’t right.
Now the government basically being racist or singling out the foreigners with drivers licenses however you want to call it but probably the most discriminatory legislation I’ve heard since 1950s where black Americans (my family) had to use separate water fountains and bathrooms. Next the government will not let foreigners sit on the public buses or maybe will make them ride in the back of the bus.
Unbelievable a government in 2026 can get away with the discrimination that they do.
So is the Minister saying the HSA can charge six times the amount for operations that it charges for Caymanians. Can he name any other country that charges a 600% premium for driving licences issued to non locals.It is ironic that all Caymanians visiting the UK pay the same as locals for every service provided by the UK Govt. How would he feel if he travelled on the tube in London and had to pay a 600% premium?.
Further to my earlier comment it seems the increase in driving licence fees is in fact 800%, how on earth is this “avoiding burdening ordinary residents”. It’s a discriminatory fee affecting largely the poorest sector of our community. In any normal country a 50% increase would be deemed excessive, but an 800% increase is unbelievable. Our work permit holders perform are qualified to provide a valuable service to this country in many business sectors where low wages are unacceptable to Caymanians. I have lived here for 57 years and can only say this particular increase is an insult to humanity.
The math does not math. Raising the admin fees on the lowest application fee from $100 to $150 is substantial. That will impact the cost of labour. all the corporate fees. Where does the Minister think these costs are recovered? We were promised a lower cost of living. We were told businesses must “lean-in” – I have no idea how businesses are meant to lean in. The is no way life will get more affordable here. We must all just stop thinking it will. It’s foolish.
Minister Anglin is a great, trained economist. He knows what he’s doing. Right?