Nigel Clarke, Jamaica’s Minister of Finance
The Minister of Finance announced a cut in GCT by 1.5 percentage points to 15 percent, effective April and will results in a loss in revenues of $14 billion as he announced a raft of measures that will result in tax reduction and subsidies for some entities and low-income earners.
The across the board reduction in the GCT tax rate is the first such reduction since the tax was introduced in the early 1990s. The adjustment follows calls by Leader of the PNP’s Peter Phillips for a 2.5 cent point reduction in the tax rate. The government is reducing the asset tax on financial institutions by 50 percent, takes effect in the next fiscal year. The removal will reduce the added cost of providing services by financial institutions to the public and amounts to $3.2 billion in lost revenues.
The SME sector will benefit from a new SME tax credit of $350,000 for 2020 onwards and will cost an estimated $1 billion. They are reducing fees paid for import licenses by Agricultural boards by 50 percent effective April. Reduction in fees paid to Trade Board for import license by 50 percent.
