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The Senate has approved amendments to the Income Tax Act, ratifying the past actions of the tax authorities in charging interest on unpaid taxes under Section 67 (5) of the Act. The amendments also seek to expressly authorise the tax authority to charge interest on unpaid tax deemed to be assessed under Section 67 (5) of the Act, and to...

Prime Minister, the Hon. Bruce Golding, says there is no secrecy surrounding the discussions between the Government and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the conditionalities of the US$ 1.2 billion loan facility the Government is seeking. Mr. Golding said that a number of factors will determine the conditionalities Jamaica will face under the agreement. These considerations include the country's...

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding, says he expects to receive an update on discussions with financial institutions on reconfiguring the national debt, by the end of this week. He said that discussions are being held with the banks, and the financial sector, towards a liability management programme which involves some reconfiguring of the debt. However, he noted that this...

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...