Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says Standard and Poor’s (S&P) decision to maintain Jamaica’s ‘B+’ credit rating, represents the agency’s confidence in the economy and the direction of the Government’s economic policy, against the background of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. A Ministry statement, on Wednesday (December 9), indicated that S&P’s maintaining of...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says payments that are outstanding under two components of the Government’s $10-billion COVID-19 Allocation of Resources for Employees (CARE) Programme, are expected to be made during December. Speaking during a media briefing on Thursday (December 10), Dr. Clarke noted that some payments under the Supporting Employees with the...

Effective December 1, 2020, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) added a new feature “Online Driver’s Licence Status Search” to its suite of online services. Taxpayers will now be able to track the status of their Driver’s Licence renewal application submitted to the tax authority. This comes as TAJ continues its thrust to expand its online service offerings and to promote contactless...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, on Tuesday (December 1) tabled the Financial Administration and Audit (Amendment) Act, 2020 in the House of Representatives. The legislation seeks to amend the Government’s fiscal savings target to make it more manageable in the short to medium term. Dr. Clarke said the Government is required to put aside,...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, on Tuesday (December 1), tabled legislation to facilitate the continued withdrawal of $11.4 billion annually from the National Housing Trust (NHT) to support the Budget for the next five years. The Bill, the National Housing Trust (Amendment) Act, 2020, is among three pieces of legislation tabled that are...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, yesterday (December 1) tabled legislation in the House of Representatives that will establish the Independent Fiscal Commission. Dr. Clarke said the tabling of the Independent Fiscal Commission Act, 2020 is consistent with the Government of Jamaica’s policy commitments to institutionalise fiscal transparency and strengthen Jamaica's fiscal responsibility framework....

Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) Governor, Richard Byles, says the BOJ will be maintaining the 0.50 per cent policy interest rate on deposit-taking institutions’ (DTIs’) overnight placements, until there are “clear signs” that domestic economic activity is returning to pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) levels. The Central Bank, on Tuesday (November 19), announced its decision to hold the policy rate unchanged, noting that this...