In the upcoming fiscal year, the Government will introduce two new incentive programmes to encourage greater take-up of the Central Bank Digital Currency, JAM-DEX. They are the Small/Micro Merchant Incentive Programme and the Wallet-holder Individual Loyalty Programme. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, provided details while opening the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House...

The Government will be providing full tuition scholarships with the aim of preparing 1,250 new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teachers over the next five years. The Students’ Loan Bureau (SLB) and The Mico University College will partner in the undertaking. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon Nigel Clarke, made the disclosure as he opened...

The Government is providing a $200 million down payment to endow a Fiscal Research Institute within the Department of Economics at the University of the West Indies (UWI). Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, made the announcement while opening the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, on Tuesday (March 7). “This will...

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, is again urging public sector groups not yet signing the new compensation scheme, to come forward to settle wage agreements. Dr. Clarke explained that, inclusive of amounts allocated in the first to fourth supplementary estimates, approximately $79.4 billion is provided for in 2022/23 to pay the incremental amounts...

The Government is providing tax relief totalling approximately $153.33 million during fiscal year 2023/24. This will result from the provision of Income Tax Credit, totalling $100 million, on the installation of residential solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, and the removal of General Consumption Tax (GCT) on the importation of live horses, small ruminants and pigs, amounting to $53.33 million. Minister of...

Two recipients from the first cohort of Marcus Garvey Public Sector Graduate Scholarship Programme awardees, have graduated from their respective universities and are now the holders of master’s degrees. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, made the disclosure as he opened the 2023/24 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 7)....

Jamaica’s economy is estimated to have expanded by 3.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, signaling the country’s recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said data from the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) indicates that by December 2022, Jamaica not only achieved but surpassed pre-COVID levels of...