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Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, has said that talks with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) team that is now in the island have gone well and he is encouraged by the approach that the Fund is taking in ironing out a stand-by loan facility with Jamaica. Mr. Golding, who met yesterday (July 28) with the team, maintains that the...

The Government has brought forward the implementation date for reducing stamp duty and transfer tax to Saturday (August 1), in an effort to stimulate the flagging real estate market. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, told the House of Representatives Tuesday (July 28), that the move is in response to the drastic reduction in real estate...

The Development Bank of Jamaica, (DBJ) has announced that under the Young Entrepreneurs Programme (YEP), the loan ceiling for graduates of Tertiary Institutions has been increased to $250,000 per applicant for the establishment of viable business enterprises. Two graduates may borrow a maximum of $500,000 to fund one project. The limit for high school leavers remains at $100,000 per applicant....

The Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) has announced an increase in the loan ceiling for tertiary graduates to $250,000 per applicant, for the establishment of viable business enterprises under the Young Entrepreneurs Programme (YEP). Two graduates may borrow a maximum of $500,000 to fund one project. The limit for high school leavers remains at $100,000 per applicant. Four high school...

Former Minister of Mining and Energy, Clive Mullings, has described the IMF facility as a mere stop gap that must be accompanied by hard decisions and a mix of social and economic measures to reverse the trend of escalating debt and declining production. Speaking in the Sectoral debate last week, the M.P. for West Central St. James told the House,...

Member of Parliament for West Central St James, Clive Mullings, has said that the current financial crisis presents an opportunity for Jamaica, and other developing countries, to critically review issues like debt management, fiscal discipline and debt re-negotiation. "It is time for extraordinary leadership to seize the moment, and not merely repeat quotable quotes of 'a crisis is a terrible...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Hon. Audley Shaw, has signed a Ministerial Order paving the way for the taxing of non-reimbursable allowances paid to employees, effective Saturday, August 1, 2009.The measure provides for the removal of personal income tax on perquisites such as benefits from accommodation, gratuities, uniform and laundry allowances. In a release today (Thursday, July 23),...

Technical Consultant to the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. Wayne Henry, has observed that with the changing economic paradigm and the severe challenges to traditional industries such as sugar, banana and bauxite/alumina, there is now a critical and urgent need for replacement industries in Jamaica. Addressing the installation ceremony of the new administration of the Rotary Club...

Jamaica has no real option, at this time, but to return to a borrowing relationship with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Minister of Finance and the Public Service, the Hon. Audley Shaw, told the House of Representatives in a statement this afternoon. He added that, accordingly, the Cabinet, yesterday, authorised him, as Minister of Finance and the Public Service, to...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says that whether Jamaica goes to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or not, it will not be business as usual, because the country is facing serious financial problems that will require a level of discipline that we are not accustomed to applying. Speaking at last night's (July 15) Town Hall Meeting in Ocho Rios,...

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said that the team headed by Minister, Don Wehby which met with the IMF in Washington recently, is perfectly capable of handling the discussions at this stage. He told last night's Town Hall meeting in Ocho Rios that Minister Wehby is not a junior Minister as is being suggested, but a member of the Cabinet...

As Jamaica continues its efforts to weather the economic crisis, Finance Minister Hon. Audley Shaw will leave the island today for a meeting in Haiti with representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank. The bank will be celebrating its 50th anniversary and all the senior officers will be in attendance. Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says the function will provide...