CLIVE NICHOLAS, Director-General of the Tax Administration Department, said it was important for Jamaica to develop a tax system geared towards attracting investments into the country.
He noted that while Jamaica's performance has been on par with other countries in the Caribbean and "even better" than Central American countries, "we still need to be more competitive so that we can improve our performance".
As a result, he said efforts are being made to further upgrade the island's tax network, which he said has experienced several changes over the past decade.
"For those of us who live on a small island with 2.7 million persons, it is important that we look outside the country if we hope to increase our markets for the sale of goods and services," Mr. Nicholas pointed out. "The Jamaican Tax Policy has been overhauled and the team that did the work at that time is here again to upgrade the system."
Mr. Nicholas, who was addressing members of the Consular Corps of Jamaica on Wednesday, said that changes that were made to the tax system over the past decade to allow it to become more investor-friendly, "have definitely borne fruits." He however emphasised that there was very little room for complacency, adding that to do so would put Jamaica at a disadvantage in what he called an increasingly competitive global marketplace.
MEASURES
He noted that a number of measures have already been introduced to make the system attractive to investors. Among the measures he listed were: The Hotel Incentives Act, Motion Picture Encouragement Act, Export Industry Encouragement Act, Jamaica Export Free Zone Act, Bauxite and Alumina Industries Encouragement Act, and the Petroleum Refinery Industries Encouragement Act.
In addition, Mr. Nicholas said the Jamaican tax system, as is the case with most countries, is designed not to tax exports. "For instance, in the case of the GCT (General Consumption Tax), all exports are zero-rated and exporters are therefore entitled to a refund of GCT paid on inputs used in producing goods or services," Mr. Nicholas said. He explained that exporters are granted tax relief under the Export Industry Encouragement Act, "based on the percentage of exports achieved and a further deferment of taxes on packaging materials used for the exportation of goods."
