Finance Minister to outline new adjustment to property tax

KINGSTON, Jamaica, Apr 6, CMC –Finance Minister Audley Shaw will on Tuesday next week announce the adjustment to the property tax regime following a special meeting of Cabinet on the fiscal measure on Wednesday.
“The Cabinet has … concluded its deliberation in regards to the special property tax regime. The details of our deliberation and the proposed adjustments will be made by Minister Shaw in Parliament next week Tuesday,” according to a statement from the Ministry of Information, quoting Information Minister, Ruel Reid.
The Andrew Holness government said that no penalties or interests would be accrued on tax assessed for this financial year 2017-18.
The statement noted that instructions have been given to Tax Administration Jamaica and other agencies for the fine-tuning and implementation of the decisions made.
Last weekend, the main opposition People’s National Party (PNP) launched a scathing attack on the new property tax system forcing the government to indicate a willingness to review the policy.
Newly elected PNP leader and Opposition Leader, Dr. Peter Phillips, a former finance minister had said “the new property tax regime is untenable and cannot be allowed to stand.
“The burden, imposed on all the people, especially the poor, is too great,” Phillips said, describing the new property tax regime as anti-business.
In opening the debate on the J$710 billion (One Jamaica dollar =US$0.008 cents) budget last month, Shaw said that the property tax rate will be reduced to 0.8 per cent with a cap at 1.3 per cent down from the current range of 1.5 per cent to two per cent.
Shaw said that the reduced rate will see over 272, 000 property owners benefitting from a reduction in taxes, or experience no change in the amount charged in 2016.