Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) programmed initiatives for 2019/20 are projected to facilitate investments totalling some $26.4 billion and engagements targeting 220 new companies. As stated in the 2019/20 Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure, the entity’s activities are expected to yield loan disbursements totalling about $7.6 billion, as against $3.8 billion for the just-concluded financial year. Engagements...

Finance and Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says government expenditure on social programmes has “more than doubled” over the last five years. Speaking at the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI) Annual Budget Review and Public Forum at the Knutsford Court Hotel, in New Kingston, on March 25, Dr. Clarke pointed out that social programmes for the society’s...

Select tax offices will open on Saturday, March 30, to facilitate 2018/19 property tax payments, due Monday, April 1. Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) states that their St. Andrew, Spanish Town, May Pen, Mandeville, Savanna-la-Mar, Montego Bay, and St. Ann’s Bay offices will open to the public from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. The Portmore Tax Office will continue its regular...

Employers still in the process of submitting their annual returns (SO2), due April 1, will be able to get assistance with the mandatory online filing of these from Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) officers, who will be on duty at tax offices being opened on Saturday (March 30). The TAJ says their St. Andrew, Spanish Town, May Pen, Mandeville, Savanna-la-Mar, Montego...

The Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) has announced a further reduction on the policy interest rate offered on its overnight balances, by 25 basis points, to 1.25 per cent. In a statement on Wednesday (March 27), the Central Bank said this decision is aimed at returning and retaining the inflation rate within the four to six per cent target range by...

The House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 26) approved the Third Supplementary Estimates for the 2018/19 fiscal year, which reflect total government expenditure of $802.6 billion. The figures indicate no deviation between the expenditure out-turns projected in the Second 2018/19 Supplementary Estimates, which were approved in January 2019, and the Third. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the...

Executive Director of the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CaPRI), Dr. Damien King, has lauded the Government for presenting a “responsible” $835.2-billion Budget for the 2019/20 fiscal year. Speaking at CaPRI’s Annual Budget Review and Public Forum at The Knutsford Court Hotel in New Kingston, on March 25, Dr. King noted that the Budget, details of which were outlined in the...