Minister Clarke’s big break for business

Excerpt from Observer Column published 11 March 2019

by Jean Lowrie-Chin

Hon Nigel Clarke, Minister of Finance

In July 2014, Debbie-Ann Gordon Crawford, then Chair of the Jamaica Bar Association Revenue Committee addressed the Kiwanis Club of Kingston on the announcement of some 22 new taxes. “Since 2013 to present, Jamaica has experienced perhaps its heartiest dosage of tax legislation in its history,” she noted.  (https://lowrie-chin.blogspot.com/2014/07/jamaicas-hearty-dose-of-tax-legislation.html)

Mrs Gordon Crawford described the quandary in which a small contractor who had just established a company, found himself: “On his monthly take from the company of approximately $100,000 he is required to account for statutory deductions, NIS, NHT, Education Tax and if he has taken on any staff, he is to account for HEART, their PAYE and other statutory deductions … In addition, the company must now look at his asset value, cash, property etc and pay an Asset Tax (though not an income tax but a direct tax) by March 15 on the company's asset value. As if that was not sufficient, the company must now pay a minimum business tax by June 15 of each year, the starting figure for which is $60,000.”

Mrs Gordon Crawford asked, “As a young country with a fairly unsophisticated taxpayer base, should the focus not be on raising revenue through tax simplification and education for all (since presumably taxation is for all - right?)?”  

As if in response to her question, some 3,500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were handed a huge gift by Finance Minister Dr Nigel Clarke in his Budget Debate presentation last Thursday. This Rhodes Scholar, qualified to do the best possible math for our country was able to deliver a model which will abolish those burdensome asset and minimum business taxes, reduce those punitive stamp duties and transfer taxes, and raise the GCT-paying threshold for companies from $3 million to $10 million.

“It is now time to give back because it is the right thing to do,” said Dr. Clarke, as he announced new measures that would total some $14 billion in tax relief. As social media lit up, we made it clear that it is not political to celebrate achievements of our democratically elected Government.  

Let no tribalist fool you: our Government is elected by the people and must work for all the people.  When one of their Ministers can give such a clear, confident and magnanimous account of himself, we should all applaud.  The accomplished Dr. Clarke could flourish anywhere in the world, but he chose to remain here and work that others may also succeed.  

Let us not be faint in our praise, nor in our efforts to use these financial breaks for the advancement of our businesses and the creation of jobs.