JACKSON

Business mistrust of government agencies regarding confidentiality of data shared with them is hobbling the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) in its analysis of production and the broader economy, the agency said this week.

But now Statin is hoping to solve that problem by amending the law to guarantee companies that their private information will be shared with no one.

"The business community just doesn't want to release production data to the institute generally," said Dr. Sonia Jackson, director general of Statin, the premier data- collection agency, which tracks inflation, production, trade and other economic data, and estimates gross domestic product.

Jackson did not expound, but it is well known that what business operators fear extra scrutiny from the tax authorities is the information to be shared with them.

But Jackson was insistent that the data Statin collects is for the eyes of her team only.

"People are concerned that the data will be given to another party," said the Statin director. "This has been said from time to time. Thus we are looking to amend the Statistical Act."

The amendment will specify that the data presented will be used solely for the purpose of statistical analysis.

"We want to make sure that it is clear," she said.

The reluctance to respond to questionnaires - most of which are returned to the institute partially filled out, others not at all - has forced the agency to turn to data on general consumption tax (GCT) collections as a proxy measure.

That presents its own problems, said Jackson, who noted that while GCT, which is charged at 16.5 per cent - but falls to 12.5 per cent for some items - can be used as a fair estimate of value, it does not allow for the extrapolation of volume production.

"The general consumption tax can give us some of the value data required," she said.

"The GCT will show what is sold in terms of dollar value, but in terms of the volume or amount sold, this information is not available and this is the problem we are experiencing with some of the data."

Production data is collected on a quarterly basis and released annually.

Statin has developed a preliminary index on production volume and value, but ensuring that the data is reliable remains a challenge for Jackson, who in a report to a committee of Caribbean statisticians in November, said the availability of information remains a challenge as response rates from companies continue to be low.

The problem, she told the Financial Gleaner, extends to all sectors.

Alongside the changes to the law, Statin hopes to boost private sector confidence via the use of focus groups and regular meetings with the business community.

Already, some contacts and focus groups have taken place, but they have been found to be time consuming, the director general said, suggesting they may not be maintained.

sabrina.gordon@gleanerjm.com