Dear Editor,
I wonder if when Minister Peter Phillips was negotiating these new tax measures that he has unleashed on us he told the International Monetary Fund that Jamaicans already pay a host of taxes, including asset tax, company tax, income tax, GCT, NIS, education tax, and property tax.
On another tax matter the minister said that there were 80,000 companies registered that should be paying taxes but only 18,000 were actually paying. The reason they are not paying, minister, is because most of them do not exist, or if they did, it was only for a few days.
In Jamaica when you start a business you are expected to register as a company so that you can open a bank account or obtain electricity and other important services. Many do not even make it out the blocks.
May I suggest to you, minister, that you get someone in your office to count the number of businesses listed in the Jamaica Yellow Pages, and after subtracting the 18,000 you claim are paying, you will find that the 62,000 figure you were given is hopelessly wrong.
Ken Spencer
Kingston 8
Do a roll call, Peter Phillips
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I wonder if when Minister Peter Phillips was negotiating these new tax measures that he has unleashed on us he told the International Monetary Fund that Jamaicans already pay a host of taxes, including asset tax, company tax, income tax, GCT, NIS, education tax, and property tax.
On another tax matter the minister said that there were 80,000 companies registered that should be paying taxes but only 18,000 were actually paying. The reason they are not paying, minister, is because most of them do not exist, or if they did, it was only for a few days.
In Jamaica when you start a business you are expected to register as a company so that you can open a bank account or obtain electricity and other important services. Many do not even make it out the blocks.
May I suggest to you, minister, that you get someone in your office to count the number of businesses listed in the Jamaica Yellow Pages, and after subtracting the 18,000 you claim are paying, you will find that the 62,000 figure you were given is hopelessly wrong.
Ken Spencer
Kingston 8
Do a roll call, Peter Phillips
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