Remove practices that stifle growth – JCC
THE JAMAICA Chamber of Commerce (JCC) is urging the Government to get rid of what it describes as nonproductive and growthinhibitive policies and practices.
A statement from the JCC Board of Directors on Tuesday indicated that the best signal that the Government could send at this time is to “unequivocally fully support the drive for businesses to invest in the economy”.
According to the JCC, “a loud signal” could be the removal of inhibitive and nuisance taxes such as taxes on dividends, the Minimum Business Tax, and the Surtax on personal income over the $6 million threshold. The organisation says it was also timely to revisit the Asset Tax.
The JCC noted that 2019
should be a significant turning point in Jamaica’s history.
It noted that in 2019, the country should be seeing a GDP (gross domestic product) growth rate of approximately 2.5 per cent. The JCC said that while that outturn was below its expectations, it was “still the best in years”.
Further, the JCC said that Jamaica should be seeing a continuation of the low inflation that has characterised 2018 and an interest rate in the low-single digits.
“We should be seeing the debt-GDP ratio at its lowest in decades ... if present trends continue,” the JCC projected.
It is also forecasting what it said could be the “lowest level of unemployment recorded over the past decade or more”.
“At the same time that all
those things are happening, a number of major infrastructure projects will be coming on stream or will be moving into full implementation,” the JCC said.
“All of this is taking place in a domestic environment, where our Index of Business Confidence is at an all-time high, and our international competitiveness ratings show that we are ranked in enviable positions across a number of key indices – even as those rankings point to continued scope for improvement.”
The JCC said that the country was at a good point to take off on a growth trajectory.