The House of Representatives on Tuesday, July 22, began debate on two pieces of legislation, aimed at enhancing the collection of revenues and improve compliance. The Bills, entitled the Tax Collection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 2014 and the Tax Penalties (Harmonization) Act, were piloted by Minister of Finance and Planning, Dr. the Hon. Peter Phillips. The Minister pointed out that the...

Minister of Justice, Senator the Hon. Mark Golding, on Friday, July 18, expressed sympathies to the countries affected by the crash of a Malaysian Airline on Thursday, July 17, on behalf of the Government. “Most of the victims on that flight were from the Netherlands. They were the country most affected by this,” Senator Golding said, at a sitting of...

The Government and the Jamaica Public Service (JPSCo) have signed off on an amendment to the JPSCo Licence. “This will allow the Cabinet to manage the procurement process (for increased capacity) through the Electricity Sector Enterprise Team (ESET). It will also grant the JPSCo the right of first refusal in relation to the replacement of any of its existing generation...

Discussions are well advanced for the expansion of the arrangement between Caribbean Cement Company Limited (CCCL) and the Government of Venezuela, under the PetroCaribe Trade Compensation Mechanism, for the supply of more clinker. “This expansion requires that CCCL will supply Venezuela with an additional 240,000 tons of clinker (cement product at the intermediate stage) over a further 18 months. The...

Government is mindful of the potential of iGaming or Internet Gaming and is reviewing the possibilities for regulating this platform in Jamaica, says Minister with Responsibility for the Public Service in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley. “Internet Gaming is the future of gaming. This online gaming business is advancing and changing the model of the gambling industry...

Minister with responsibility for the Public Service in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, Hon. Horace Dalley, is assuring that the process to transform and modernize the public sector is advancing steadily. “The progress might be a bit slow, but you have to be aware that the Jamaican public sector is extremely complex,” the Minister said. He was making his...

Sixty-five contractors have been invited to submit their applications to the National Contracts Commission (NCC) for registration. They were among 84 contractors who were denied registration by the NCC on the grounds that the Office of the Contractor General (OCG) was investigating them and had referred their files to the Fraud Squad. Making his contribution to the 2014/15 Sectoral Debate...