PM Says IMF Terms will be Outlined in Parliament Shortly

Prime Minister the Hon. Bruce Golding says that the Government will outline the terms of its projected US$1.2 billion standby facility with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Parliament shortly.
“We will very shortly be outlining in Parliament the terms of the IMF agreement, the details of the economic programme to be pursued and targets to be met, the policy measure to be implemented and the debt management strategy to be executed,” Mr. Golding told his Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) annual conference at the National Arena on Sunday (November 22).
“We will also be outlining changes in our revenue programme, to ensure that we begin the process of closing the gap between expenditure and revenue,” he said.
He explained that some Jamaicans will experience relief in these measures, including an increase in the income tax threshold to $440,000 from the current $320,736 as of January 1, 2010, which will affect the pay slips of some 132,000 workers. However, he said that the main thrust of revenue programme will be to “spread the burden of tax” more broadly and to shift the burden from Pay as You Earn (PAYE) contributors to “pay as you consume” General Consumption Tax (GCT) contributions.
He said that the concept is already being rolled out, but the Government will have to make clear what it can do without a cost to the public, and what it cannot do without a cost.
“We will have to be very clear in terms of the things that Government must provide without charge and the things that Government provides but must recover the cost,” he said.