What is the relationship between government debt and local traffic fines? In Dubai, a lot. This morning yours truly received a text message from Dubai police: the family car has incurred yet another $165 traffic fine. And of course those breaking traffic regulations should pay up.
But the authorities aren’t just concerned with reducing road accidents. In a twist familiar to disciples of Jeremy Clarkson, it seems that the traffic fines are a roundabout route to trimming Dubai’s budget deficit.
Dubai’s government revenues fell 13 per cent in 2009 compared to 2008, but they are now being bolstered by an almost 50-per-cent increase in police fines, according to a prospectus issued by the government, as it drums up interest in a $1bn sovereign bond that is expected to be priced by Wednesday.
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