By Garwin Davis, Assistant News EditorADMITTING TO have erred in going along with the Government's decision to replace a four per cent cess on imports with a two per cent user fee, the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) said yesterday it would be lobbying to have the situation reversed.
Speaking at The Gleaner Editors' Forum on at the company's North Street, downtown Kingston offices, JMA members said they were being stifled by the current arrangement, adding that they would like to revert to a system that gave them the opportunity to file for returns.
"We will be taking our concerns to the Ministry of Finance," said president Doreen Frankson.
"The JMA is confident that we will be able to make a strong enough case to have the user fee replaced with the four per cent that was originally imposed."
Speaking in agreement Chris Bicknell, chief executive of Tank-Weld Metals, said: "I don't know how the private sector could have agreed to something like this. When you pay the user fee at the wharves, you can't file for returns... it simply adds to your cost."
Mr. Bicknell said manufacturers had, from the beginning, supported the four per cent cess over the two per cent fee, noting that it was other private sector entities that had initiated the switch.
Imposed last May, the four per cent cess on imports was set up as a pre-payment on income tax, and was intended to capture tax revenue from importers in the informal economy.
"We know that in several cases, importers have no interface with the tax authorities after goods leave the ports," Dr. Davies said at the time.
THEIR CASH FLOWS
However, private sector interests, notably the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ), arguing that the cess would impact their cash flows, successfully lobbied to have it replaced with the user fee.
Businessman Andrew Mahfood noted that the four per cent cess would not be much of a nuisance for those persons who comply with the tax laws of the country.
"For those who systematically file returns, this cess would have minimal impact, only in so far as it affects cash flow," he said.
"The user fee doesn't give you that opportunity. The only persons who will be bothered will be those who have not been making income tax payments."
