No Tax on Emergency Calls

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 be applied to calls made to emergency and special services, such as the police, fire brigade, and ambulance; numbers used to activate and de-activate services; and calls to access voice mail; calls to on-net customer care; and calls to add or determine available credit.

Dr. Phillips also advised the House that, consequent on concerns raised following his announcement of the special tax to be imposed on inbound calls, and calls originating and terminating in Jamaica, several adjustments are to be made on the domestic side, which will also take effect on June 15.

He said it is now proposed that: $0.05 per minute, be imposed on calls originating and terminating on a fixed local network; $0.04 per minute on all other calls (domestic and international) originating in Jamaica; and US$0.75 per minute on international calls terminating on a local mobile network. Rates on the international side, as announced, remain unchanged.

“It should be noted that where free minutes are offered by service providers, tax will not be applicable for these minutes, up to 30 per cent of the total call time, both free and billed, for each call category (net, off net and international),”  Dr. Phillips stated.

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter