Dalton Laing, Gleaner Writer
Audley Shaw - FILE
Western Bureau
SMALL ENTREPRENEURS such as those in the tourist industry should get a tax holiday, says Shadow Finance Minister Audley Shaw.
"I believe that the private sector in Jamaica needs to be given a red carpet where you cut out the red tape and put in place a red carpet so that it ... can have a free ride to create jobs, earn foreign exchange and get the country out of the debt trap."
The debt situation of the country is the main reason small hotels, villas and apartments are unable to get tax relief needed for retooling, he said. And the high interest rates at which small properties have to borrow is the main reason they have difficulty competing.
"In order for funds to be delivered to the small hotels, villas and apartment at cheaper rates, the Government has to reduce its appetite for borrowed money," Mr. Shaw said. He told the 23rd annual fund-raising dinner of the Negril Chamber of Commerce on Saturday at the Negril Hills Golf Club in Westmoreland that many borrowers have to be repaying their loans at anywhere from 22 to 28 per cent.
"We ought to be able to get money at single digit interest rates so that if you have a small hotel and you want to ... beautify the facility, you ought to be able to get that money at between five per cent and seven per cent."
To achieve this, the Government will have to substitute earning for borrowing, he said.
