Effective October 1, 2014, monthly GCT Returns and payments are due on the last working day of the month, after the end of the taxable period. Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) is therefore advising registered taxpayers that GCT returns and payments for the month of October 2014 are due on Friday, November 28, 2014. The GCT Act was recently amended to...

Preliminary data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) shows that Jamaica achieved economic growth for a fifth consecutive quarter, recording 1.8 per cent for the period ending June 30, 2014. Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says STATIN has confirmed that the outturn for the June quarter “is, in fact, stronger than had been originally estimated...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says equitable distribution of resources in Jamaica will only materialize when the economy begins to record socially inclusive growth. This, he explains, is growth that is not only sustained, over time, but brings into the country’s economic framework, “those sections of the population that have been historically excluded.” This, the Minister...

An Internet-based application (app), aimed at mapping businesses with the needs and lifestyles of the communities they serve, will be introduced as part of the second staging of the ‘Gas Pro Street Style Cook-Up’. The initiative, which involves collaboration with the Planning Institute of Jamaica’s (PIOJ) Community Renewal Programme (CRP), and project management company Carrington Direct, will be held in...

Jamaica has successfully met and surpassed all targets for September under its Extended Fund Facility (EFF) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Co-Chair of the Economic Programme Oversight Committee (EPOC), Richard Byles, told journalists at its monthly press briefing on Thursday, November 6, that “this means that we are likely to pass the 6th quarterly IMF review.” A review of...

The Statistical Institute of Jamaica (STATIN) is reporting an 11 per cent decline in the unemployment rate for July compared with the similar period last year. In its July 2014 Labour Force Survey, STATIN says there were 179,000 unemployed persons in the country compared to 201,600 in July 2013. Unemployment among youth age 14-24 was recorded at 34.1 per cent...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the Government will continue to maintain the strict rule of fiscal discipline, which is necessary to keep the country’s debt on a downward path. Addressing a special luncheon of the Jamaica-American Chamber of Commerce at the Three West Club in Manhattan, New York, this week, the Minister said that the...