Head tax to be used for infrastructural development

CABINET HAS given approval for the head tax collected from arriving cruise ship passengers to be directed to the Port Authority of Jamaica for infrastructural development.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism and Sport, Dr. Wykenham McNeill, told the House of Representatives last week that the new system would come into effect on July 1, this year and that the implications would be "enormous and far-reaching".

He said the Ministry and the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) had been responsible for marketing the cruise ship product, while the Port Authority was responsible for the development of the ports. The head tax is currently paid into the Consolidated Fund, which finances the budget.

The State Minister said that the disparity between the source of the revenue and where it was spent, would be reconciled under the new system, with the head tax going directly to the Port Authority for port development.

"It is now in the Port Authority's interest to do everything possible to attract more business," Dr. McNeill said.

He said the Port Authority would undertake infrastructural development of the ports, although the JTB's marketing expertise would still be utilised in a strategic partnership arrangement with the Port Authority and the cruise lines.

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