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Chief Corporate Communications Officer at Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ), Meris Haughton (right), outlining the payment options available for property tax as of April 1 at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ today (March 30). Others (from left) are Director, Revenue Enhancement and Resource Mobilisation at the Ministry of Local Government and Community Development, Calvert Thomas, and Director/Commissioner, Land Valuations, at National Land Agency, Eric Allen.

Relief for 272,000 Property Owners

More than 272,000 property owners will benefit from a reduction in property tax, or experience no change to what they paid in 2016, when the new property tax regime takes effect on April 1. The reformed property tax system, recently...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw. (FILE)

Gov’t Moves Ahead with Plans to Build New A&E Unit at Percy Junor Hospital

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw (at the podium), addresses the launch of the National Financial Inclusion Strategy and introduces the National Financial Inclusion Council at the Jamaica Conference Centre in downtown Kingston, yesterday (March 29). At right is Governor, Bank of Jamaica, Brian Wynter

Government Puts Forward National Financial Inclusion Strategy

Accountant General, Carlene Murdock, (centre) speaking on the expanded role of the Accountant General’s Department at a recent JIS Think Tank. She is flanked by Acting Director, Communications and Customer Relations, Tanisha Weir-Grant (left); and Acting Deputy Accountant General, Angela Williams.

Role of AGD Expanded

Deputy Financial Secretary in the Strategic Human Resource Management Division of the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Wayne Jones (left), and Director of Public Service Capability Development at the Management Institute for National Development (MIND), Ann-Marie Smith, share a light moment during the orientation and opening ceremony for the Management Analysis programme, at the institution in St. Andrew, on March 24.

27 Public-Sector Management Analysts to Benefit from Training Course

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Accountant General, Carlene Murdock, speaking at a JIS Think Tank on Friday (March 24).

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Effective April 1 AGD to Accept Only Barcoded Life Certificates

Effective April 1, the Accountant General’s Department (AGD) will only accept barcoded life certificates from pensioners. Accountant General, Carlene Murdock, who spoke at a JIS Think Tank on Friday (March 24) said the document will improve service delivery to pensioners. “We started using barcoded life certificates two years ago. It gives us all the information required for the pensioners. When...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw. (FILE)

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Gov’t Embarking on Rationalisation of Public Bodies

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, says the Government has embarked on a comprehensive rationalisation of public bodies. This, he said, will involve “a series of phased and sequenced actions over the next couple of fiscal years, whereby public bodies will, based on time-bound action plans, be merged, closed, privatised or reintegrated into the public sector”....

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Retrieving Unclaimed Bank Balances

Each year, the Government publishes information on unclaimed balances in financial institutions for people to come forward to retrieve these sums. Sums that remain unclaimed after such publication are turned over to the Government. According to the Banking Services Act, 2015, unclaimed balances refer to monies that remain dormant in the possession or control of a banking institution for a...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. (FILE)

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Interest Rates on New Loans Trending Down

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, says lending rates by banks on new loans as at December 2016 were trending down. Closing the 2017/18 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 22, the Minister pointed out that interest rates on new loans for large projects are now at 10.23 per cent, compared with 13...

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw. (FILE)

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Increased Support for the Poor and Vulnerable

Finance and the Public Service Minister, Hon. Audley Shaw, says since taking office, the Government has significantly increased its support for the poor and vulnerable. Closing the 2017/18 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 22, Mr. Shaw said his views are supported by the Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI), a well-respected Think Tank. “The protection of the...

Opposition Senator, K.D. Knight, highlights a point while making his contribution to the debate on the Arbitration Act, 2017 in the Upper House today (March 17). The Bill seeks to repeal the Arbitration Act 1900, and replace it with a more modern legislation that is intended to provide an effective non-judicial mechanism for settling disputes between contracting parties.

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

Senator Proposes Extension of Application Period for Arbitration Awards

Opposition Senator, K.D. Knight, has suggested that the proposed application period for the setting aside of awards as a means of recourse in arbitral proceedings, should be extended to six months. A period of three months is set out in the Arbitration Act, 2017, which is currently being reviewed by the Upper House. The legislation seeks to facilitate domestic and...

The House of Representative.

9 years ago Finance & Public Service

House Approves Legislation on Telephone Tax

Legislation was passed in the House of Representatives on March 16 giving legal authority to the Government to collect taxes imposed on certain telephone calls since 2012. The Bills, the Telephone Calls Tax Act, 2017 and the Telephone Calls Tax (Validation and Indemnification) Act, 2017, were piloted by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw. The Minister...