FULL MEMBERSHIP of the newly-established Tax Policy Review Committee is now in place.
The 12-person team, mandated to undertake a comprehensive review of Jamaica's tax system, completed its first meeting on July 17.
The committee is comprised of: Joseph M. Matalon, chairman of Manufacturers/Sigma, a bank and fund management company; Eric Crawford, Chairman of the Public Acountancy Board; Ethlyn Norton-Coke, representative of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica; Betty Ann Jones-Kerr, accountant and Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) representative; Mark Golding, lawyer and PSOJ representative; Lloyd Goodleigh, Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU) representative; Dr. Wesley Hughes, Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ); Wilfred Bagaloo, senior manager, Price Waterhouse; Allison Peart, taxation specialist; Velma Blake, Deputy Financial Secretary, Taxation Division, Finance Ministry; Effie Crooks, Managing Partner, Crooks, Jackson and Burnett; and Derick Brooks, businessman.
The formation of the committee was first announced during Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies' closing 2003/2004 Budget Debate presentation in April. It is intended to examine the main sources of tax revenue and assess their impact on society in "the light of Government's fiscal strategy and international experience."
EXAMINE
According to the Finance Ministry, the committee will examine, among other issues, the impact of the current rates of Personal Income Tax, Corporate Income Tax and General Consumption Tax on "incentives for work, investment and economic growth in general." It will also look into the impact on poverty and the equitable distribution of the tax burden.
"Where significant, the inefficiencies and/or inequities are to be identified. The review should recommend alternate tax structure/rates designed to address these weaknesses," the ministry said in a release issued Monday.
During the Budget Debate, it was revealed that businessman Mr. Matalon had been appointed to head the committee. At that time, Minister Davies also said he would be seeking nominations from the Opposition Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) and other special interest groups for the other members of the committee.
REVIEW
The last comprehensive review of the tax system was carried out in the mid 1980s.
Dr. Davies said a new review was now needed to simplify the tax arrangement. There has been much criticism of the tax system, which fails to capture in its net a large section of the economy, thereby placing a greater burden on those in the formal economy.
