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New High Commissioner to the United Kingdom (UK), Her Excellency Aloun Ndombet Assamba, will be the special guest of honour and keynote speaker at the Jamaican Diaspora UK, 3rd Biennial Conference in London, on Diaspora Day, June 16, 2012. Mrs. Assamba, who took up duties in the UK at the end of May, has publicly stated that engaging with the Jamaican...

Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has announced that several categories of domestic telephone calls are to be removed from the list of goods and services attracting taxes. Making his closing presentation in the 2012/13 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday (June 6), Dr. Phillips informed that, effective June 15, tax will no longer...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has debunked the notion that the recently announced tax package of $19.4 billion for June 2012 to March 2013, will lead to a contraction in the domestic economy. “Given the significant holdings of government debt by Jamaican investors, any repayment of debt, transfers resources to Jamaican investors, which become available...

A team from the country’s multilateral partners will be visiting the island at the Government’s request on June 26, to begin planning for enhancement of the social protection programmes.   Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, made the announcement in the House of Representatives today, as he closed the 2012/2013 Budget Debate. Dr. Phillips noted that the...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has informed that he will be meeting with International Monetary Fund (IMF) representatives soon, to discuss the timelines for the next phase of negotiations. “With respect to the negotiations with the IMF, I expect, in the next few weeks, to visit Washington to determine with the Fund, the timelines for...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, says the Government will ask the Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) to monitor some food items, to ensure that the lowered General Consumption Tax (GCT) benefits are passed on to consumers. He said the Government is also asking consumers, to “reject unjustified price increases,” report instances of questionable prices to the...

Animal feed and raw food and vegetables are being retained on the list of items being exempted from General Consumption Tax (GCT), Finance and Planning Minister, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has announced. At the same time, the Minister disclosed that, following consultations and discussions with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, it is proposed that, effective July 1, an...

Response to revenue measures Government, after discussion with the Minister of Finance, has completely removed GCT on electricity bills for all residential customers.  Energy Government is awaiting the outcome of the bids and any subsequent negotiations for the provision of necessary infrastructure and the supply of the LNG. Conservation must be practiced in homes, farms, factories, offices, hotels and while...

As Jamaica celebrates its 50th anniversary of Independence this year, the nation must demonstrate to the global community that it is capable of effectively managing  its own affairs, without looking outside for buffers, said Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips. “We cannot build a country on the expectation – much as we welcome support when we...

There are indications that adjustments will be made to the minimum wage rates during the course of the current legislative year. Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Portia Simpson Miller, in her contribution to the 2012/13 Budget Debate in Gordon House, on June 5, announced that Labour and Social Security Minister, Hon. Derrick Kellier, has been asked to direct the Minimum...

Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips, has called for greater vigilance on the part of officers charged with protecting and accounting for public funds. Dr. Phillips, who was speaking at an audit committee workshop hosted on May 31 by the government's Audit Commission at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston, insisted that accounting officers and similar...

The Government’s chief planning agency, the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), is reporting Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth of 0.6 per cent for the first quarter of 2012, relative to the corresponding period last year. Agriculture, wholesale and retail, and tourism were the main growth drivers, with activities in the goods producing industries increasing by some 1.4 per cent. Agriculture,...