THE OPPOSITION Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) has rejected as false, the claims of Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies that the proposed hike in property taxes announced last week is intended to bridge the financing gap in the budget.
Vowing to resist the proposed hike, the JLP even suggested that the Finance Minister was "padding the property tax bill."
"The Minister must abandon his destructive borrow-and-spend, and tax-and-spend policies otherwise he will face the clear and present danger of a taxpayer revolt from citizens who have long reached their taxable limit," said Audley Shaw, Opposition Spokesman on Finance.
Last week, Dr. Davies announced a pending increase in property taxes while addressing a public forum in Spaldings, Clarendon. The Minister pointed out that it takes just under $4 billion to cover the cost of street lighting, public cleansing and firefighting, but property taxes only generated $1.3 billion towards the Government's coffers.
"The fact is that the Parochial Revenue Fund as presently (sic) constituted has two components. The first component involves the dedication of two-thirds of motor vehicle licence fees to parochial road maintenance. The second component, which is property taxes, is dedicated to public cleansing, street lighting and road repairs," said Mr. Shaw.
