On April 1, 20021, Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) met with representatives of financial holding company designates (FHC) and deposit taking institutions (DTIs) and agreed the following: Effective immediately, the boards of FHCs and DTIs can choose to resume the distributions of dividends to shareholders owning more than one per cent of issued shares which had been declared for their 2019...

On the occasion of its meeting on 30 March 2021 and on its review of financial system risks in 2020, the Financial System Stability Committee (“FSSC”) issued the following statement: “The Financial System Stability Committee (“FSSC”) has reviewed Bank of Jamaica’s (BOJ) 2020 Financial Stability Report (the Report).  The Report assesses developments in the macroeconomic environment, the financial system and...

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has expressed high hopes that financing of the recovery of developing nations from the economic impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) will be managed in a sustainable manner. “I am optimistic, based on what I am seeing [and] hearing in the international community,” Mr. Holness told leaders gathered at the virtual High-Level Meeting of...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is advising all property owners that Property Tax payment for the 2021/2022 fiscal year, which remains unchanged, becomes due on April 1, 2021. The TAJ system has been updated to reflect the liabilities for the period and is now available for online payments. Persons will have until April 30, to make their payment without any penalty being applied, using a wider range of payment options instead of...

The Jamaica Deposit Insurance Corporation (JDIC) during 2021/22 will continue to work on reforms that comply with international standards aimed at minimising the occurrence and impact of financial crises locally. These include establishing newer deposit protection schemes and similar provisions for non-deposit-taking financial institutions, financial consumer protection, and financial inclusion strategies. Details are outlined in the Jamaica Public Bodies Revenue...

Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is reminding business persons and employers that their Income Tax Returns and Annual Employer’s Return for the 2020 filing period are due on March 31. Companies, Partnerships, Self-employed persons and employed persons with other sources of income, have until the extended Income Tax deadline of March 31 to file their Final Income Tax Return for 2020...

Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) announces its decision to hold the policy interest rate (the rate offered to deposit-taking institutions on overnight placements with BOJ) unchanged at 0.50 per cent per annum. Bank of Jamaica has kept the policy rate at the historic low level of 0.50 per cent based on its assessment that inflation will generally continue to remain within...