Speaker of the House of Keys and Garff MHK Steve Rodan says this year’s budget has been an epic feat of financial juggling.

He is full of praise for Treasury Minister Allan Bell after yesterday’s budget managed to avoid spending cuts or tax rises despite the world’s economic woes.

Mr Rodan says the package unveiled in Tynwald is an extremely positive one which manages to keep the government modestly in the black.

But he says managing to make the Island pay its own way without borrowing any money has been the outstanding feature of this year’s budget.

He told Manx Radio:

"He has been able to keep tax rates low, he has been able to increase spending on public services, especially health services, put money into reserves and lastly to do so without any external borrowing from the UK, the EU or anywhere else.

"What is different this year is the degree of balance, because it is a very, very tight balance, but against the world's economically critical condition, to have actually forecast a positive growth for the Isle of Man economy in the coming year of two and a half per cent, is really quite remarkable."