Gov’t claim about tax threshold inaccurate
Number of people benefiting far lower than 400,000
THE PLANNING Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ) has confirmed that approximately 200,000 people benefited from the increase in the income tax threshold to $1.5 million. But that is a number that opposition members of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) claim is lower and contradicts figures given by the Andrew Holness administration.
“The number of Jamaicans who would have been on the PAYE tax roll is 469,131 persons. Of that number, there would have been approximately 200,000 that, prior to the increase in the threshold, would have already been below the threshold,” Rochelle Whyte of the PIOJ told the PAAC on Wednesday.
She added: “With the increase to the $1.5 (million), an additional 200,000 would now be below the threshold, bringing the total number to 400,000. So, those on the PAYE tax roll which are now above the threshold is 69,131.”
PAAC member Fitz Jackson said that that went against statements from the Government, which, he argued, suggested that a number higher than the 200,000 is benefiting from the implementation of an election-winning promise to raise the income tax threshold to $1.5 million.
“The narrative that is out there is that there are 400,000 persons now benefiting from the threshold increase. That would not be true by what you have just said. It is only 269,131, not 400,000. As you said, 200,000 were already benefiting. So, whether the threshold moved or not, they would still be getting their benefit. To say that 400,000 is now getting benefit is a misinformation,” argued Jackson.