On the heels of the minister’s address to the nation we have a new set of tax measures snuck in right before Valentines Day. I am not sure about who is buying flowers this time around. The Let’s build Jamaica package is aimed at further taxing the poor working class people of the nation and allowing the well to do to continue living as if nothing has happened. The new tax reforms will determine the Jamaica we live in as we continue to work toward achieving Vision 2030. This new round of taxes are expected to bring in 15 billion dollars into the governments pockets so they can be able to borrow more money to service more debt and buy new SUVs next year.
We all know how its goes down. The 2012-2013 budget came and went with new taxes on everything from animal feed, books, meat (except chicken), yogart to the phone calls that you recieve as well as the ones you make. So the new thrust is to tax everything you consume. Now lets look at the new taxes (click on the media gallery icon) which will come on board (hopefully I can make sense of it);
Revenue Measures 2013
1. These revenues measures are taken to support the Primary balance of 7.5% GDP that has been requested by the overlords in the IMF. This should not be confused with GNP which is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by residents of a country.
2. The first 3 measures are being implemented in order to broaden the tax net as well as ensuring that it is harder for the middle class to dodge the taxes imposed on them. All this is a value added tax (VAT) on consumption. The VAT has been criticized as the burden of it falls on personal end-consumers of products. Some critics consider it to be an aggressive tax, meaning that the poor pay more, as a percentage of their income, than the rich.
3. The Telephone Calls Tax (TCT) introduced last year will be included in the GCT tax base. 1.3B
4. All fees and taxes paid at ports are to be included as part of the GCT tax base. 1.5B
5. Amendment to the GCT Act to account for GCT on face value of prepaid vouchers/airtime. Not sure how this is going to work out - you will have to read this one yourself. Basically they digicel to tax before it sells the credit or something like that. $0.2B
6. Increase the tax on dividents payable to residents to 15%. 0.8B
7. Imposition of Surtax (5%) on the taxable income of Large “unregulated companies†making $500,000,000 or more. They have companies making them kinda monies out here? $1.2B
8. Increase(0.5%) in education tax rate. In order to address the shortfall in the SLB. Less pay for you. $2.8B
Trade Border Tax Measures
9. Customs Administration Fee on all imports (except for charitable organizations, bauxite sector ). Things will cost more in the stores. 1.2B
Other Revenue Enhancement Initiatives (Including compliance measures)
10. Increase in local Stamp Duty Rate and Transfer Tax (on properties). Cost more to sell/buy land. $2.0B
11. Amendment to the fee and gross profit structure for Betting Gaming and Lotteries. In keeping with the inductry request to expand thier earning ability, GOJ has aggreed to allow for the sale of lottery tickets on Sundays and public holidays. Increase in lottery tax (GPT) from 17% and 23% to 20% and 25%. Sell out to the devil, lotto everyday. $1.5B.
12. Reform of the Property Tax rate regime. $3.4B
13. Introduce “Transfer Pricing†and Thin Capitalization rules.
For the actual document read; new taxes (click on the media gallery icon)
Gods Child commented: This just sounds so evil. I was reading a bit about the property tax and wonder just what are people supposed to do? The honest people will suffer and the dishonest people will keep being dishonest. Who does this help? I ask this only rhetorically as the answers will not be easy to come by. ... read 1 more
Have you noticed the haze that have been covering Kingston for the pass 2 months? Anybody know what that is? Its not rain, I am certain. Could be dust from Africa? Somebody needs to tell me!
So last week a hazardous substance was released somewhere near the Kingston habour causeing the closure of the portmore toll road. Not only is it bad that the force toll road had to be closed diverting hundreds probably thousands of cars to the alternate route on Mandela Highway - It was reported that 10 people from the toll plaza had reported sick and had to seek medical attention before the it was realised that something was wrong. Half the people in Portmore could have died and not one would have realised until it was time to go home. Its a good thing we can see hurricane from a long way off.
Up until the time of this writing they still have not found out what was released and infact they might never find out. I imagine SOMEONE SOMEWHERE is diligently righting the full report. Which brings me to question the government's ability to handle environmental desasters at such a scale in heavily populated areas. Thousands of containers arrive at the Kingston Harbour on a dialy basis - what kind of contingence measures do they have to ensure that those containers aren't carrying some kind of lethal chemical that could potentially be leaking into the enviroment? Must we wait until people get sick or die before someone pays attention?
It has been only 2 years ago when a Chlorine spill forced the closure of the Kingston Wharves. Even from my own recent experience (2 months ago ) I have witnessed brown slugge leaking (or being released) out of a ship heading towards the Kingston Habour - considering that I was watching in a commercial airline you would have to be spilling ALOT of oil for me to be seeing the trial from 20,000 feet in the air. Maybe its regular ship behaviour, I do not know, but I am sure it cannot be good.
In 2009 Sulphuric acid spill affecting more than three kilometres of the Kingston Harbour shoreline, has left fish dead and prompted a warning from the Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM) for humans to stay away. In 2010 there was a oil spill between the Petrojam Oil Refinery and Hunts Bay Power Station, operated by the Jamaica Public Service.
Over the years there have been several fires at the Riverton City Solid Waste Dump. Only god knows how many people that affected and how long it took to detect and contain the fire. One thing is sure MILLIONS OF DOLLARS were spent because we love spending money on preventable events are regular intervals.
The problem is not limited to Kingston either because serveral fish kills have been reported to in various rivers across the island. These events are often linked to various nearby factories.
The majority of events often results in a "response" to the event. This response often occurs as a knee jerk reaction too late to identify to the cause of problem as in the case of the portmore toll closure. I am not casting blame on National Environment & Planning Agency because they have their hands full with habitual polluters and Owl molesters. I am hoping to bring light to how important it is for all of us to monitor our environment and ensure that it stays healthy. And we should also seek to employ more forms of preventative and early detection systems to curtain the effect that these disasters have on people and the environment alike.
In the long run I hope the government seeks to establish better prevention and monitoring mechanisms instead of waiting for things to go bad. This will help you to avoid having a press conference to announce the writing of a full report which either never comes out or amounts to a high school level essay.
