MR. PHILLIP Paulwell, Minister of Commerce, Science and Technology, has launched a major advance in the efficiency and psychology of tax collection with the opening on-line of an Internet portal through which Jamaican taxpayers can make payments for a variety of tax obligations.
The portal, Jamaicatax-online.gov.jm, has practical, as well as symbolic significance, showing that the days of being afraid of modern technology are fast disappearing, not to mention that the new system will save taxpayers having to stand in long lines at uncomfortable collectorates. For the general public, this convenience will apply most particularly to paying traffic fines, an experience that can otherwise be an excruciating ordeal.
Only about five per cent of the Jamaican population has access to computers so the new system will be starting with a potential base of about 100,000 persons, a relatively small number, but nevertheless a start which the Minister announced with a certain exuberance, quite justified in the circumstances. The sophisticated program has been designed and installed with financial and technical assistance from the United States Trade Development Agency, an appropriate partnership since tax collection by Internet has long been a feature of the American tax administration.
Initially, the Jamaica system will only accept payment with international credit cards and we are puzzled why local credit and debit cards issued by Jamaican banks have been excluded. As we understand it, extending acceptance to local credit cards is soon to come and since not everyone who owes taxes has an international credit card we hope that this will be speeded up.
We note also that the next stage of the project will be to out-source certain tax collection functions to the private sector. This is a tradition that goes back a long way in history. In Florida, the collection of property taxes has long been out-sourced to a private individual who takes on the administration of the system and remits the proceeds to government, less his 'take', usually a percentage of the amount collected. Many safeguards will have to be engineered into the system before this phase can begin and we urge caution. But the first stage launch has many interesting possibilities for streamlining our tax collection system and we wish it success.
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