Within the next four months, Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) should have a fully operational mobile application (app) that facilitates motor-vehicle registration and fitness fee payments online. The app, designed to run on a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet, will eliminate the hassle of waiting in long lines for extended periods at TAJ locations. It will allow persons...

Director General of the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Dr. Wayne Henry, says the economy grew by an estimated 1.9 per cent during the July to September 2018 quarter. The growth, he pointed out, was spurred by an estimated 5.2 per cent increase in the goods-producing industry, and 0.8 per cent for the services industry. Dr. Henry said that the...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) has been an important partner over the past 10 years, playing a pivotal role in the country’s economic turnaround. He noted that the IDB came to Jamaica’s aid “at our time of greatest need”. “The IDB, led by President, Luis Alberto Moreno, took...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says Jamaica’s pensions industry framework is to be revised to enable trustees to invest up to five per cent of the $550 billion accumulated, in venture capital. This, he said, equates to $25 billion and will represent a “game changer” for business opportunities, innovation and growth, coming from a...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says the modernised Customs legislation will create an environment that facilitates greater trading opportunities while improving the ease of doing business in the 21st century. Dr. Clarke was speaking at a stakeholder consultation on the legislative reform for the repeal and replacement of the Customs Bill, at the...

Governor of the Bank of Jamaica, Brian Wynter, says the exchange rate has continued to exhibit flexible two-way movements. Speaking at the quarterly monetary policy report press conference, held at the Bank’s downtown Kingston offices on November 19, the Governor said that at the time of the Bank’s last press conference, the exchange rate was on an upswing, and this...

Governor of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), Brian Wynter, says the prospects for the Jamaican economy are positive, and the Bank projects continued recovery in economic activity. “The expected growth predominantly reflects an improvement in net external demand, buoyed by increased production in mining and quarrying and expansion in construction and tourism-related activities,” Mr. Wynter said. He was speaking at...